Woodwork Finishing in Avalon, NJ

Cedar, trim and porch millwork finished so the detail still reads.

Wood on a barrier island fails from the edges in. A porch ceiling board that was face-coated but never sealed on its back and ends will cup and open its joints within a few seasons; a rail cap coated only on top will let water into the end grain and lift the finish from underneath. In Avalon, where covered porches and decks are the whole point of the house, that's where most of our finishing effort goes.

So we seal all faces and end grain wherever the piece can be handled, use tannin-blocking primer on cedar so knots and grain never ghost through a light color, and treat rail caps, thresholds, door bottoms and stair nosings as the high-wear items they are. Where a homeowner wants natural cedar or a stained look, we're direct about maintenance intervals here — a clear or semi-transparent finish on an exposed Avalon elevation is a two-to-three-year cycle, not a ten-year one.

Inside, the same crew handles painted millwork: window seats, coffers, wainscot and the deep trim packages that come with newer construction. Faces are filled, sanded and dusted, and topcoats are waterborne enamels that flow out without brush marks and cure hard enough for a house full of guests in August.