Painted woodwork and trim have always been used in homes. Most of the time, painted woodwork is some shade of white, however, other colors come and go depending upon the current trends. For carpenters, installing painted woodwork is a little more forgiving than stained wood, as the joints and nails on painted trim can be filled and sanded to seemingly disappear.  

While painted woodwork has always been around, the wood used for trim has changed dramatically. In yesteryear, the wood for painted trim was typically fir, pine, and poplar (in our region), as these woods were easily accessible, cheaper, and less desirable for staining. The wood is typically pre-primed before installation. For the last several years, almost all painted wood has been prepared from a composite man-made trim called medium-density fiberboard or MDF.

This product is made from wood fibers glued together with resin under high pressure. It comes pre-primed, is very smooth, paints well, and costs less than regular wood. The drawback of using MDF is that it does not handle moisture well; it swells when exposed to water, and nail holes are harder to conceal.

Oftentimes, when working for customers who reside on the South Hill, we find that homeowners on a historic property have had a room (or many rooms) where, at some point in the past, someone has painted the wood trim that was originally stained and wants it stripped and sanded... which is A LOT of work. The key is to decide if the original wood species is something worth stripping. What do you prefer: painted or stained?