DIY Network

Interior Finish Work: Who's Doing the Work? From "Be Your Own Contractor" episode DBYC-111

Host Brad Staggs introduces the topic of finish work in home building -- including molding, trim-work, interior features and painting.

In this episode of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor, our do-it-yourselfers share their experiences of putting the finishing interior touches on their homes while acting as their own contractors. Topics include molding, trim, paint, special features and workspace. The contractors also talk about their decisions as to whether to do the finish work themselves or hire contractors.

In this first segment, we get an overview of what may be involved in finishing work as well as some of the decisions along the way.

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Who's Doing the Work?

• Our do-it-yourself contractors are full of advice and tips when it came to the finish work on their home interiors. Though some subcontracted some portions of the work (figure A), this is a job that most of the contractors took on themselves. As with every other aspect of building your own home, knowing and assessing your skill level and limitations with respect to interior work is critical before starting the job.

• Lynn Underwood suggests that, before deciding whether to subcontract or do the work yourself, it's a good idea to go and observe the artisans and experts that specialize in these areas as they work. Watch them closely and ask them questions. You may be surprised to find out that you have the craftsman's skills necessary to do at least some of the finish work yourself.

• To get the kind of detail work he wanted in the bathrooms of his Colorado home (figure B) -- and to save a considerable amount of money -- Andy Beasley did the work himself.

  Figure A

  Figure B

  
  
• For his major home-renovation and expansion at his home in Tarzana, California, Stanton Saucier gained from the knowledge and experience of his own father (figure C)K. Edgar Saucier had career experience with building and finish work and was able to provide guidance as well as hard work when it came to detailed work such as installing the fireplace mantle and molding (figure D).

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  

  Figure E

  
  
• Alan Sain notes that, if you decide to do finish work yourself, you have the opportunity to put your own "signature" on your home. In his home in Butler, Pennsylvania, Al needed to install a wooden support-post in his living area (figure E). This installation came early in the building process, before drywall was installed.
  
• Al developed a parallel two-line design as a visual accent for the post (figure F). He like the design so much that he carried it through as a theme throughout other areas of his house, such as on the wooden cabinet-fronts (figure G).

  Figure F

  Figure G

  
  
  
• Of all the work he did on his own home, Al got some of his greatest enjoyment out of the trim work and finish work he did. He notes that finish work is particularly rewarding since it lets you use your own ideas to make a personal or artistic statement with your home (figures H and I).

  Figure H

  Figure I

  
  
  
• Devout do-it-yourselfer Fred Samuels installed the trim-work, moldings surrounding windows and doors (figure J), and even routed the moldings himself. He also installed the wooden interior stairs (figure K), using lumber that was cut and milled on his own property. As with other work that he did on his own home (which included nearly everything), Fred finds enduring satisfaction in the detail work he did with his own hands.

  Figure J

  Figure K