MITRE CONTRACTING, INC.

Window Seat, Archway, Columns, Wainscoting

Here we show off a few pictures of a nice archway and columns with recessed panels. This archway was made to surround a window seat built-in that we also constructed

 

The arch features recessed panels, applied curved panel mouldings, a keystone detail, all wrapped in a 3 5/8" crown that continues through out the room.

The columns also feature recessed panels and crown molding. We also applied some panel moulding shadowboxes in the window seat area for more interest.

   

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This was just part of a whole room renovation project / makeover. This bedroom improvement project also included the removal of a stippled ceiling, a double framed paneled beadboard wainscoting, custom painting with glazed accents, new electrical outlets, switches and cover plates.

Please contact or call us anytime for a free in home consultation and estimate for your next home improvement project.

Thank You, Roger Beesley

Wainscoting with Raised Panels

Today's blog features some pictures of a room renovation project that includes an elegant wainscot with double raised panels.

The wainscoting is around 42" high and has an 8" tall raised  panel, over a 21" tall raised panel. The wainscot is then capped off with a two piece build up of mouldings.This wainscot project started with the framework. It consists of a 1x4 primed pine, glued and pocket screwed together. Each wall was made as a single unit consisting of many evenly divided spaces for the panels. These were then applied to the walls with construction adhesive and nailed into the studs and bottom plate. All the wainscotings individual 3/4" thick MDF panels were then fabricated in the shop, then applied to the walls in their appropriate spaces. Each panel was then trimmed out with a small 3/8" "sticking" molding. The wainscot was capped off with a modified sill molding and a nice small panel molding for an apron. We then caulked, puttied, primed and painted all the new woodworking.

 

CLOSE UP PICTURES... click to enlarge full size

Another phase of this room makeover was the removal of the "stippled" ceiling. It was scraped and skimmed over with several coats of easy sand 90. Also notice the nice ceiling molding treatment we installed. It consists of a single run of panel molding with stepped corners. This was then painted in a slightly different color which really sets it off nicely. There is also a one piece crown moulding... something that should never be missing in a room with wainscoting!

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SOME BEFORE PICTURES... click to enlarge

 

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Please call us anytime 703-330-3486, or email us, and let us provide you with a free in home consultation and free no obligation price quote for your next home improvement project. Whether it's wainscoting such as this, crown moulding, chair railing or built-in cabinetry, we can give your house that model home look. We service the entire Northern Virginia area and all the surrounding counties.

Thank You, Roger Beesley, Mitre Contracting, Inc.

Paneled Beadboard Wainscoting

Here we highlight some pictures of double paneled beadboard wainscoting. This was part of a home improvement that included this bedroom makeover project we just completed in June 2010.

This wainscot treatment consisted of a 1x4 framework all pocket screwed together, forming the 48" high double paneled system. This was then placed on top of 1/4" primed beadboard sheetgoods.  Each individual panel section was trimmed out in a nice basecap panel moulding. Then the wainscot was capped off with a two piece chair rail molding.

It was given a custom paint job with glazed accents. Also we rebuilt a window seat unit in the dormer niche area. This features recessed column pilasters and archway.

We also changed out all the old painted outlets, switches and cover plates with new ones.

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As always... you can click any picture to enlarge it in a separate window

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AFTER

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BEFORE PICTURES OF BEDROOM... click to enlarge

   

Notice the old stippled drywall ceilings. We had them scraped and then skim coated a few times to be smooth again.

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More Pictures

 

 

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Please call us anytime 703-330-3486, or email us, and let us provide you with a free in home consultation and free no obligation price quote for your next home improvement project. We service the entire Northern Virginia area and all the surrounding counties.

Thank You, Roger Beesley, Mitre Contracting, Inc.

EPA Lead Safe Certified Firm

The wait is over!

We have finally received our certificate from the EPA formally recognizing Mitre Contracting, Inc. as an EPA Certified - Lead Safe Renovator!

If your home was built before 1978, and you are planning to have any improvements performed, please think about the possibility of lead based paint. Don't take a chance on contaminating your home and property with toxic dust from improperly perform home renovations.

If you live in and around the Northern Virgina area... make sure the company you choose has been trained and certified to safely handle working with lead based paint.

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NAT-52747-1

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Please call or email us anytime for more information concerning safe lead based paint renovations.

Or fill out this contact form and someone will contact you to answer your questions.

Thank You, Roger Beesley

EPA's RRP Rule

Environmental Protection Agency
40 CFR Part 745 Lead;

Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program

Here is a link to the actual ruling including the amendments and preamble.

Also to note that we have completed our training on "Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting"

We have received our individual "Certified Renovator" certificates... and Mitre is waiting on the EPA to send us our "Firm Certification Certificate"

That's what I get for dragging my feet on this... now they are backlogged and will probably take the full 90 days to respond. As soon as Mitre gets the certificate, I will get it posted.

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Here are some other pertinent links:

Renovate Right Pamphlet... PDF file

EPA's Website

Check for a companies EPA certification

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In The News and Blogs:

Washington Post Article

Surprise Surprise...

RRP Predictions

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Here is a short video showing some of the procedures to be followed working under the RRP rules

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Please call or email us with any questions concerning these new regulations. I have completed the training, and we are fully capable of safely  working on your home using the guidelines and procedures of the training. If your home was built before 1978, before you hire just any company to do renovations or repairs on your home... make sure they have been certified.

Thank You, Roger Beesley

EPA's Lead Safe Practices Rule

Nice article and  feedback concerning the EPA's new lead safe practices rule taking effect on April 22, 2010

Lead Rule Perspective

New Oak Stairs

Just a small note to highlight a small project we completed a couple months ago for a homeowner in Northern Virginia

They wanted their stairway going to their lower level to match the rest of the home.  All the stairways in the home had solid oak treads and risers except the sets that led to the garage level.

This project required that we remove the existing carpet, modify the old pine stairs by removing the nosings, installing the new 5/4 oak treads, and installing the solid 1/4" thick oak risers. We also installed oak flooring and landers on two landings.

Then we finished all the new oak installations by sanding and finishing them in a natural oak finish

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CLICK THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM IN A NEW WINDOW

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A couple before pictures of the stairway:

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After Pictures:

 

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Fill out the CONTACT FORM for your free estimate

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If you live in the Northern Virginia area or any of the surrounding counties, please contact us anytime if you would like us to come by and discuss the options you have for renovating your stairways and or railings. You can email us or call us at 703-330-3486 anytime.

Thank You, Roger Beesley, Owner, Mitre Contracting, Inc.

Walnut Bannister & Stair Treads

On this posting we feature a small project we just completed in the fall of 2009. This was for a homeowner in Fairfax Station, Virginia. They had had another contractor do some work and the upper stairway we show was part of their work. As you will see the framing of the stairs was practically non-existent, and had to be completely re-framed and trimmed out to accept the new stair treads and mouldings.

These are beautiful solid walnut treads and railings, combined with primed square balusters and boxed newels.

The lower stairway was originally done in oak... these we modified to accept the walnut treads and did the installation of the treads and new railing balustrade system.

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CALL US @ : 703-330-3486 OR MY CELL @ 703-615-3077

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Please click the pictures to enlarge them in a separate window and also you can hover over the picture for descriptions

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BEFORE                                                 AFTER

 

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BEFORE                                              AFTER

   

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BEFORE                                                   AFTER

     

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BEFORE                                                     AFTER

   

BEFORE                                                       AFTER

   

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Please notice we use real solid stair treads on all of our projects. We do not just install hardwood nosings and flooring as a lot of other contractors sometimes do. Also if the project will call for stained risers we only use solid resawn wood... not plywood. This way there is no chance of the floor finisher or anyone damaging or going through the thin veneer of the plywood riser.

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FILL OUT OUR CONTACT FORM HERE

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If you would like us to come out and take a look at your stairs to quote you a price and give you some ideas on how to improve your old railings or stair treads, please don't hesitate to call us or email us anytime. All estimates and consultations are free of charge.

Thank You,

Roger Beesley

Mitre Contracting, Inc.

Wainscoting

Just a few pictures highlighting a small home improvement project we just completed for a homeowner in Manassas, Virginia.  We installed a room of wainscoting... flat wall paneled wainscoting to be more specific. This is where we install a 1x framework on the walls, then apply a moulding inside each space. Then it gets capped off with a chair rail or small ledge treatment.

As always, the dimensions and mouldings can be designed to reflect literally hundreds of different looks and styles.

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As always you can click any picture to enlarge in a separate window

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BEFORE PICTURE.... again, I am a little late in getting this, you can see we have already started the installation of the wainscoting. The existing baseboard has been removed, the door and window casings have been modified by adding a backband moulding. This is added to allow the casings to be thicker than the wainscoting framework.

If you notice we haven't protected the floors... like always, it is because they are getting ripped out to make way for a new hardwood flooring installation.

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A couple of installation pictures:

   

   

Here you can see the joinery we use to build the wainscoting frames. Each wall gets measured, the wood gets cut to fit, then we layout the panel sizes, drill the pocket holes, and finally glue and screw the pieces together. Then these frames get a nice helping of construction glue before being  installed and nailed in place.

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AFTER PICTURES:

This was taken right after the installation... ready for the painters to prep and paint. I will add some completed pictures when I get them. We have added a nice beaded basecap molding in every recessed panel that was formed by the wood frames, added a chair rail molding at the top and then capped with a small flat ledge to finish it all off.

Again, we can modify the moldings to reflect several different looks and designs. There are numerous different basecaps and panel mouldings that can be used for the panels. Also there are many styles and designs of chair railings that can be used, or just finish the top off with a simple beaded apron and small ledge. 

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CONTACT US HERE

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See this page for a sample of a true raised panel wainscoting

See this page for several different styles of wainscoting

See our photo album for even more pictures of different wainscot treatments.

As always... just show us pictures of what you like, and we can replicate pretty much anything you can come up with. Please contact me anytime if you would like to discuss a wainscoting project for your home or office.

Thank You, Roger Beesley... email me ..... call me: 703-615-3077

Mitre Contracting, Inc.

Kitchen Remodel in Northern Virginia

Fill out our CONTACT FORM for your free quote on your new bathroom or kitchen remodel!

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Office # 703-330-3486              Cell # 703-615-3077

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This page features few pictures of a kitchen remodeling project for a Northern Virginia homeowner.

This kitchen features cherry cabinetry by HAAS, granite counters, ceramic floors and stainless appliances

This project was planned, designed, and performed by R.K.Morris Painting Company. We just had a hand in the re-framing, the installation of the cabinetry, trimwork and mouldings also the appliances and hardware installations.

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Click the pictures to enlarge in a separate window

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BEFORE   ....................................    AFTER

      

   

   

 

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See more kitchen & bath remodel pictures HERE  or HERE

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Please call us anytime 703-330-3486, or email us, and let us provide you with a free in home consultation and free no obligation price quote for your next home improvement project. We service the entire Northern Virginia area and all the surrounding counties.

Thank You, Roger Beesley