“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas
It’s the difference between a Van Gogh and a mass-market print. Between Bach and the latest pop song. Between Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and the latest cookie-cutter house
sprouting up at the edge of town.
Artistry. Quality. Longevity.
And that’s the difference between Fine Line Woodworks and stock trim and moulding.
“Homeowners will spend more time choosing a refrigerator than moulding,” says Dave McGrath, owner of Fine Line.
“But trim can be the difference between a great home and just any old house.”
From the moment clients walk in the door, McGrath becomes their partner. He studies their house plans, looks at
the whole house, and asks questions about the clients and
how they live. Then he creates the moulding that suits the home and the homeowner.
He explains, “We hand-pick the material based on length, stability, color uniformity, grade, and projected yield. We have
a very strict code that we follow. And we take great pride in
every detail.”
That pride transfers to the other tradesmen that will work with the trim. “When the trimmer has this beautifully crafted moulding in his hand, he takes extra care with his work even before he hangs the first piece,” McGrath believes. “And when the painter sees the fine job of the trimmer, he mentally sets a higher standard for the finishing.”
McGrath also customizes each design for different areas of the house. “Public and nonpublic areas can be trimmed
differently to reduce costs,” he notes, “but we don’t just put
in cheaper products or fewer layers. We reduce the scale of
that custom design so the profile is the same and we’re not
sacrificing style.”
Using architecturally appropriate trim and moulding—appropriate in style, size, and proportion—is crucial to the
finished product. “Selecting trim is one of the last steps in
the home-building process,” says McGrath. “By the time
homeowners come to us, they’re sometimes tired of all the details. But when they see the difference we can make, they realize all those little decisions matter. And they leave here excited again.”
After more than 25 years in the business, McGrath is still excited about every project he works on. “This is fun stuff,” he says. “When you put this much expertise and knowledge behind something, it raises the bar for everything else on the project.”
Working with a craftsman like McGrath, homeowners can actually create their own Monticello, a home to be proud of, to pass on to the next generation.
An original Van Gogh may be out of reach, but true artistry isn’t.
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