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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 20, 2006 For rustic beauty, stain-grade wood hits right note Doors with natural color add warmth and will age well Consider the word "custom." It's sure to mean different things to different people. I've seen custom homes that have granite topping every counter but linoleum on the floor. Others sport elaborate kitchen cabinets paired with run-of-the-mill appliances. Nothing in the home my husband, Will, and I are building near the Rogue River indicates custom so much as the stain-grade wooden components throughout. Unifying the house, they appear in every room regardless of floor coverings, paint or other decorative aspects. But how much wood is too much? It's a question I pondered in the middle of the night, convinced there had to be a perfect balance. Early on, Will and I selected pine windows with aluminum-clad exteriors. Each custom built — many in unusual sizes — the windows cost more than double the vinyl ones our contractor originally bid. But we were convinced they were worth the $28,000 price tag. Advertisement Flash forward about six months to my insistence on solid-core, stain-grade wooden doors. After championing the windows and tongue-and-groove pine paneling on sections of vaulted ceiling, Will was more than happy to live with paint-grade doors. These typically are formed of a composite material containing sawdust and even some cardboard fibers. I, on the other hand, couldn't envision the house without warm wooden doors opening into every room. They just seemed necessary given the rustic look we craved. I've heard of persnickety homeowners with healthy budgets who view anything less than solid wooden doors and trim as chintzy. Yet they insist on the real thing only to paint it. In my house, the wood wouldn't be there for vanity's sake. It would shine. To make up the approximate 40 percent price jump from paint-grade to stain-grade, a little skimping elsewhere was in order. I chose cheaper carpet and tile and split the difference between paint-grade and stain-grade moulding. Twenty-three Douglas fir doors, including pocket doors and bifolding closet doors, came to about $13,000. Once he saw the doors, Will's qualms about splurging evaporated, I'm sure. And the overall effect isn't compromised by paint-grade jams, trim and baseboard. Made of medium-density fiberboard, or MDF, these pieces come at a fraction of the cost of solid-wood trim. The painted pieces, we found, actually highlight the doors' silky grain even more. Paint-grade baseboards act as a similar foil for fir flooring in the great room. Eschewing stain-grade trim for MDF also eliminated the tedium of trying to match woods so they wouldn't clash. But did the investment in doors and windows add anything to our home's worth? While appraisers wouldn't list a specific value for these amenities, they automatically bump up a home's comparables, said Medford appraiser Roy Wright. Stain-grade windows and doors just aren't seen in spec homes, he added. "It's an overall quality thing," Wright said. While those looking to sell likely couldn't increase a home's list price based just on wooden windows and doors, there's no accounting for the value a homeowner is likely to reap out of sheer enjoyment, he said. For this reason, wooden windows and doors often are seen in remodeled homes, he added. And as wooden windows and doors deepen in color over time, they promise to add only more beauty with age. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487 or at [email protected] . The project so far Reporter Sarah Lemon and her husband are nearly 11 months into a custom home-building project. Here's how the project progressed over the past week: Installed stovetop. Continued laying tile. uContinued laying wood floor. uContinued staining and painting interior doors and trim. uFinished installing fireplace stone. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Email Security Advertisement s Advertisement