12. Wood for finishing. - In selecting the inside finish for a house, care should be used to sort the different colors as much as possible; though the same grade and the same kind of wood may be used, some of it will be darker or lighter than the rest. The dark wood should be used in certain rooms, and the light wood in others.

All of the exposed finish of a room should be of the same wood, though the doors upon very good work are often, and upon common work are generally, of a wood different from that of the rest of the room. Almost any kind of wood may be used for inside finish, provided the desired dimensions can be obtained and the appearance is satisfactory, since very little wear comes upon it. Certain kinds of woods, as spruce, gum, and buckeye, do not hold their shape well unless very strongly fastened. Basswood is used to some extent, but it shrinks and swells considerably unless it has been well seasoned.

The woods commonly used are the pines, oaks, walnuts, whitewood, or poplar, red birch, black gum, ash, chestnut, cherry, cypress, redwood, maple, sycamore, and a few other woods, the use of which is largely local. Besides these, imported woods are used to some extent, chief among them being mahogany.

The best material should be selected, which should in every instance be thoroughly kiln dried, especially for mitered finish.

13. Casings. - (A.) The tops of all the openings of a room should be on the same line. This often is accomplished by putting a transom in over the doors, but the rule is disregarded as much as any other rule in carpentry, even upon the best work, as it affects only the appearance of the room and in no way the comfort of the house.

(B.) Figure 8 shows three styles of finish for the casings of doors and of window frames. The mitered (a) is the style generally favored upon the best class of work. The window casing and stool finish are shown at b. The end of the stool at z, and of the apron at y, should be mitered, or returned upon themselves; this applies to all forms of finish.

Fig. 8. - Types of Finish.

The corner block finish (c) is used commonly, as it is more easily put in place than the mitered finish and more ornamental than the plain finish, shown at d; if the material shrinks or swells, the defect is not so evident as in the mitered finish. The corner block should be 1/8 " thicker, and \" longer and wider than the side casing or architrave (w), and the header (x).

The plain finish (d) is used in many places where it is difficult to obtain moldings, though unimportant rooms of good buildings are often finished in this style. The header or lintel (v) should be 1/8" thicker than the side casing (r) and should project equally at each end.

A plinth (/) 9" or 10" high should be used to finish the bottoms of the side casings of all forms of door finish, to give a place against which the baseboard (u) and molding (t) may stop, if the latter is separate from the baseboard. For economy the plinth is often omitted, and the base and molding stopped against the architrave or side casing. The plinth may be of a straight piece, but upon the best work it conforms to the shape of the casing, as at s.

If a plinth projects more than 1/4" beyond the face of the baseboard, it is a good plan to cut the front corner of the bottom end off about 3/16" from the floor, and back to the fine of the base, to admit a carpet, instead of cutting it, or leaving a bunch where it comes against the plinth.

Door casings always should be set back to show 5/16" or §", as shown at h, Fig. 8; it is best never to finish flush. The fillet or corner thus left adds to the appearance of the work, for, if the casing were made perfectly flush with the door jamb, the slightest difference would be noticed. It also allows the latch of the lock to swing clear of the finish upon which it otherwise might make an ugly scratch. An exception to this rule is in putting the finish around windows, where the edge of the casing should be flush with the inside of the pulley style, as shown at j, Fig. 8; the stop bead (k) hides the joint.

Casings never should be spliced, for in every instance an unsatisfactory job results, as the joint is certain to open or start if the wood shrinks or swells.

In putting up any kind of trim or standing finish, the workman will realize that it pays to be sure that the frames are set square and plumb, and that the ends of the casings are cut perfectly square and true both ways, and fastened exactly to their places.

If every piece is set accurately, the work of finishing is greatly reduced, as upon common work it is usually satisfactory to make a joint without planing.

(C.) In putting on the corner block, as in many other things which vary in different localities, it usually is expedient to follow the local custom. It should be put on with the grain running the same way as the header, of which it is a part. Generally it is the custom to put it on so that it is a part of the side casing; the only advantage of this is that the end wood does not show.

Again, no workman should cut the header of a plain door casing between the side casings, as that would give the opening an appearance of weakness which should be avoided, even where strength is unnecessary. Also, if the grain of the block is set vertically, the shrinking is apt to open the joint between it and the header, while if the grain of the block runs horizontally, the open joint will come between the block and the side casing, where it is less conspicuous.

14. Moldings. - (A.) Moldings are indispensable to the carpenter in putting the finishing touches upon any piece of work. It is obvious that a molding which is intended to be used in a certain place might be entirely unsuitable for use elsewhere, for instance: the band molding, b of Fig. 9, would be entirely out of place if used instead of the cornice or crown molding which is shown at m. Thus it will be seen that the contour of the molding is not the important consideration, but its relation to, and the shape of the other surfaces of, the piece upon which it is molded. Lumber dealers keep in stock the standard forms of moldings, among which may be found types which are suitable for every purpose for which moldings are used upon buildings.