We have finished one of our single largest historic renovation contracts creating 860 historic replica windows. Built by hand from African mahogany they passed all physical wear and environmental challenge tests before we began building. The Montgomery Building in Spartansburg SC renovated by Harper Construction. Our team has put in overtime, thought through materials problems and worked diligently through some long hours to make sure we met the project deadlines. Thank you all for your skills and dedication!
Built on a Modern Timeline
Gepetto craftsmen specialize in matching and remaking historic pieces for accurate and lasting renovations qualifying for historic tax credits. While the woodworking may not have changed, people’s expectations as to how long something should take sure have!
The solid mahogany window frames are to the millimeter replicas of the originals, however our bid and the general contractor’s timeline called for a 100 day turnaround on 860 windows. We had to devise a workflow that built 5 windows a day to meet that timeline!
Wooden windows over 70 inches tall
When the tallest guy on your team can walk through a window frame without ducking, it’s a big job. The window frames are of pine, and so sourcing stable quality pine planks 8×2″ over 6ft long is also a trick of the trade that you’ll have to hire us to take advantage of fully. Part of our ability to meet detailed project requirements are our network that sources the raw wood materials right for your construction. The window frame boxes must be accurately joined to square and plumb and so in the video you see us filling the window frame boxes with the window sashes. We have a few more trade secret tips for weather sealing and glazing that helped us pass the stress and efficiency tests that were required by the contractor before they signed off on the whole project. Historically accurate, but meeting modern energy efficiency and weather resistance standards are a modern manufacturing success.
Master Craftsmanship Passed On
Matthew (with the logo t-shirt in the foreground) intently solving the positioning and fit puzzle that manufacturing wood projects presents on a daily basis. He teaches the craftsmen who are observing the process as well as the sensibility for checking the work. Unlike metals, cement or fiberglass – wood can only be shaped once. Forming a miter joint must be done with exacting precision or it’s too loose and fails. The solid wood construction of these windows include over 20 joints that must be tended to individually. The decision making process of the craftsman guides the fitting and because we have such a large manufacturing scale – the craftsman makes better choices. If piece A is too tight, he can choose from the source stack of forty or fifty pieces to find a better fit without creating wasted pieces or time.
Manufacturing scale at your service
Contact us to bid your historic renovation and you might be surprised at the price. We have managed many large construction orders for clients across the Eastern United States. The windows in the video are shipped to South Carolina where the coastal towns of Charleston and Savannah Georgia have beautiful sections of historic homes. We supply warehouse and industrial space reconstruction projects in Maryland, Delaware and as far north a Connecticut as the move to re-purpose industrial spaces trends throughout the building and architectural trades.
Project Management
20 years of experience in the field of mill-work has brought Matthew to the level of managing million dollar contracts for large scale production. Nothing in the wood construction field is quite as organized as you might assume, in the above picture Matthew is measuring and calculating the quantity of raw beams needed to be transported from the warehouse to the shop. Materials management, time management and building a skilled workforce that can solve problems as they develop in manufacture all contribute to meeting your project demands.
Big Projects Lost in Small Details
Raw lumber comes from raw nature – she’s not perfectly uniform. These planks are from 8ft to 12ft long and any width from 4 inches to 34 inches! We have to mill the mahogany from it’s beam size to a 3.8 ” wide window sill. The plank mahogany will be sorted and ripped before the decorative edge is milled into the side to replicate the historic windows from the 1920’s era building.
Timelapse video of Replica Wooden Windows being built on our woodshop assembly line in Richmond VA. Built for a historic renovation in Spartansburg SC our craftsmen forge raw mahogany planks into finely tuned handmade windows.
Historically accurate wooden window supplier South Carolina
Gepetto Millworks makes to order any type of historic replica of existing windows. For historically accurate renovation or commercial re-purposing projects that wish to keep the historic charm and effectiveness of mahogony built windows.
Original skylights were designed in historic buildings to play a significant architectural role in illuminating the magnificent interior spaces below them. Historic skylights were placed to catch the light not have easy access for repair so and so are poorly maintained. Biannual inspection and repair are recommended because the work to restore these old skylights often involves rebuilding and re-designing structural elements. Gepetto craftsmen will use historic methods and materials if requested, or we can blend modern materials with the historic look. Either choice our replacement or restoration will result in decades of service.
Houses designed before electricity
Used windows for light
Something our architects and designers were not forced to do after the turn of the 20th century. So for houses built after 1900, you are less likely to find skylights and other natural light gathering features because the designer or builder just assumed you would switch on a lightbulb. Gepetto craftsmen have specialized in renovating, repairing and building true to original wooden skylights in historic homes across Virginia. Contact us to get a site visit or quote scheduled.
Common repair or replacement issues:
glass – single and double pane; historic glass; stained glass
glazing and sealing of the wood to glass joinery
flashings and skylight to roof joints
structural members supporting the elevated glass
sealants
Many of mother nature’s subtle and pervasive forces work against a skylight! Thermal shifting, structural movement from settling or shifting, high UV radiation, wind vibration and water pressure. The glazing system must defend against all mother nature offers as disturbance. Shed and drain water, support and cushion the glass, avoid mechanical pressure points, and seal against thermal leakage.
Are you renovating an old warehouse into office space? Adding to your home or business and want the interesting architectural element and compact design of a spiral for access?If you don’t have room for a conventional stairway use a spiral staircase! Outdoor spiral...
$89 to $142/SF Upgraded with some drywall ceiling areas with indirect cove lighting, architectural woodwork doors and frames, glass office fronts in matching wood framing; 30% of wall areas as premium-grade architectural woodwork, 40% with acoustical fabric...
Decorative Windows manufactured in Northern VA by dedicated local craftsmen able to repair and or replace all sizes and finishes to achieve the historic look. Whether you’re applying for historic tax credits or finishing your new construction with an older architectural style that includes gables, imperfect glass, decorative panes, intricate diamond window panes or round windows.
Arlington, Virginia Historic Window Custom Builder
Design, craftsmanship, and glass qualities make wooden windows worthy of preservation. We regularly restore windows 100+ years old and expect our solid wood newly built windows to last as long with regular maintenance.
This is self-evident for ornamental windows, but it can be equally true for warehouses or factories where the windows may be the most dominant visual element of an otherwise plain building.
Bethesda, Maryland Wooden Architectural Decorative Elements made to order
Evaluating the significance of these windows and planning for their repair or replacement can be a complex process involving both objective and subjective considerations which our experienced estimators and installers will take care of for you.
Frederick, MD Architectural Millwork Custom Fabricated to measure
Gaithersburg, Maryland Fit and Finish Wood Trim for windows, doors, and interior rooms. Historic Window builder using authentic construction techniques for solid wooden windows.
Reston, Virginia Handmade Custom Millwork for Historic Homes and Buildings
Rockville, Maryland Area Wooden Architectural Elements that stylize homes and offices
Top of the window called the head casing has a drip cap to keep water from entering through gaps in the top of the opening. A cornice or crown molding can add decorative detail to the physical effect and structure. Exterior window trim has a windowsill, which, like the drip cap, keeps the interior dry and blocks the elements but it’s width, ornamentation, and corner detail create a style out of a line.
Silver Spring, Maryland Built to Order Wooden Windows, Doors and Architectural Elements of any architectural style
Legal Disclaimer:
Gepetto Millworks does not install or service windows directly in the District of Columbia. Local Liscensed Contractors may deliver window sashes and or frames to our Virginia facility outside Charlottesville for restoration services provided by our experienced craftsmen and pickup for installation from our shop.
Guess the age of the house shown here sporting Gepetto’s historic replica architectural millwork.
Is it
225 years old
150 years old
2 years old
Did you pick “2 Years old”? You’re not the only one mistaken. Many people mistake this house for a famous home of Williamsburg built between 1752 & 1754! The Wythe House once belonged to George Wythe’s father-in-law, Richard Taliaferro. The house was constructed between 1752 and 1754 and was conceived as a whole with no additions made to the rectangular two story structure. Perhaps the most handsome colonial house in Williamsburg, the two-story brick residence is believed to have been designed in the mid-1750s by George Wythe’s father-in-law, the surveyor, builder, and planter Richard Taliaferro (pronounced “Tolliver”). Taliaferro built the addition to the Governor’s Palace about the same time. The house remained as the sole household of Taliaferro when his daughter Elizabeth married George Wythe in 1755. The couple received the house as a wedding present from Taliafero and they received a life tenancy upon his death in 1779. Elizabeth lived here until her death in 1787, and George moved to Richmond, Virginia in 1791 to serve as a judge.
The trend of constructing new homes from architectural classics is supported in these twelve home designs for those discerning individuals who seek a home of magnificent proportions. Some designs are replicas of existing historic homes, with the exteriors faithfully captured. Others are eclectic renditions of pleasing architectural components taken from different homes of the same style and era. All have luxurious floor plans that will accommodate the complex needs of the modern family. Authentic Historical Designs, LLC design partners Cecilia Reese Bullock and Mike Stephens hold the classic lines and proportions of the older architectural style in highest esteem.
Gepetto Millworks specializes in supplying home builders and home owners renovating with love their old homes and want to replicate the solid wood, hand crafted materials that have already lasted 100+ years with replacement parts that will last as long, since they were crafted with equal pride as skill as in historic days.
Custom Wood Floor Planking Made to Order
Custom Wood Floor Planking Made to Order
Custom Wood Floor Planking Made to Order
Custom Wood Floor Planking Made to Order
Custom Wood Floor Planking Made to Order
Custom Wood Floor Planking Made to Order
Historic Renovation Wood Products for Virginia, Maryland and DC
Historic Renovation Wood Products for Virginia, Maryland and DC
Historic Renovation Wood Products for Virginia, Maryland and DC
Historic Renovation Wood Products for Virginia, Maryland and DC
Historic Renovation Wood Products for Virginia, Maryland and DC
Historic Renovation Wood Products for Virginia, Maryland and DC
Historic Renovation Wood Products for Virginia, Maryland and DC
Historic Renovation Wood Products for Virginia, Maryland and DC
Historic Replica Woodworking made by hand in Richmond VA
Historic Replica Architectural Millwork
Historic Replica Woodworking made by hand in Richmond VA
Historic Replica Woodworking made by hand in Richmond VA
Historic Replica Woodworking made by hand in Richmond VA
Historic Replica Woodworking made by hand in Richmond VA
Historic Replica Woodworking made by hand in Richmond VA
Historic Replica Woodworking made by hand in Richmond VA
Most new homes borrow older styles to some extent. Even if you hire an architect to design a custom home just for you; they must use some feature or some tradition of the past. Colonial and Georgian designs have maintained a steady popularity over the last two centuries in the Virginia and Washington DC areas. During the housing expansion of the 1990s to late 2000s, builders experienced an increased interest in homes with a Victorian or a Country cottage flavor while built with modern techniques.
“…all the wood exposed to view when the building is completed. This includes residential and commercial cabinetry (kitchens, baths, storage, offices, closets), doors, windows, stairs, paneling, trim, and shelving. Almost everything made of wood, built into or attached to the interior of a building.”
Architectural mill work is not limited to built-in to a structure. It can be a free-standing piece such as a rolling kitchen island or a external decoration or visual frame for a door or window. Architectural millwork can be either stock “off-the-shelf”, semi-custom, or custom. If a builder is hoping to create a unique style for a home mill work is the easiest way to stand apart as the off the shelf trim and kitchen types are so uniform they loose personality.
Exterior architectural millwork is not part of the interior of a building. It can include exterior trim, balusters, gable decorations, and columns . Exterior millwork add visual interest to the outside of a structure and so they acquire the architectural label. In times past the craft of home building was more individualized and filled with detail. Gepetto craftsmen have renovated and restored hundreds of Richmond and Virginia historic projects bringing the detail and charm back from gilded age homes.
The history of America beats from the heart of VA, particularly during the pre-Colonial period. Jamestown Virginia was founded in 1607 and was credited as the first permanent English settlement in North America while Henricus was even earlier, but was moved due to flooding. The surrenders ending both the American Revolution (Yorktown) and the Civil War (Appomattox) occurred in Virginia. The state is called the “Mother of Presidents” because eight U.S. presidents were born there. The colony nearly failed until tobacco emerged as a profitable export. It was grown on plantations, using primarily indentured servants for the intensive hand labor involved. The Virginia Colony became the wealthiest and most populated British colony in North America, with an elected General Assembly. The colony was dominated by rich planters who were also in control of the established Anglican Church. Baptist and Methodist preachers brought the Great Awakening, welcoming black members and leading to many evangelical and racially integrated churches. Virginia planters had a major role in gaining independence and in the development of democratic-republican ideals of the United States. They were important in the Declaration of Independence, writing the Constitutional Convention (and preserving protection for the slave trade), and establishing the Bill of Rights. The state of Kentucky separated from Virginia in 1792. [source: WikiPedia]
Wooden Window Restoration VA
Is our specialty because there are so many rich layers of history that can be preserved in architecture. Gepetto builds to order or repairs existing window frames, casings and sashes so that you can receive historic tax credits for your renovation or building budget.
