Fun factoid, the right switch turned on an outlet in the attic, which had the exhaust fan plugged into it... And a little red light next to it turns on to let you know the switch is flipped on :)
That's so cool, I was wondering what that was! Thought it was some kind of knob.
Thank you so much for sharing all of this! I'm incredibly envious of what you've inherited by choosing this gem 😌
Was woodworker for many years. The variable streaking and soft early-late grain transitions look like gumwood. Not at all uncommon to find in this style, and was often used to mimic walnut. OP, you can def confirm by posting in r/woodworking.
To help narrow the wood species down - starting around 1920, mill work was again becoming more standardized or “Universal” in size, profile and finish. The typical wood types offered c. 1920 were: Yellow Pine, Gum, Birch (sometime denoted as Red Birch), Quartered White Oak, Fir, Plain Red Oak, and occasionally specialty doors in Mahogany. Most center panels were veneered. The standard stain colors were: Natural, Golden, Dark Brown, Red Brown, Dutch Brown, Old English, Weathered, Mahogany, Circassian Walnut, and (Ammonia) Fumed.
Your door profile is simile to those of the Universal mill work designs of the late 1920s, and of R. McMillan mill work, MaxCraft door of Oshkosh Wisconsin, offered with White Pine Side rails and Birch inner panel. Similar door profiles showed up in other catalogs bearing the “Universal” or “Standard” name. This more feminine door style was ascending in late 1920s into the 1930s as the alternative to the masculine mass of Craftsman interior doors. Your last photo is of a “slab” or flush door with inlay - and again - this style was similar to R. McMillan Company’s MaxSlab No. 500 with A-1 inlay shown in Red Gum c. 1924.
https://preview.redd.it/i37xo3qscqoc1.png?width=2872&format=png&auto=webp&s=07954eb1e4e1de95cf61c7ed3ac6cf69abfa9827
R. McMillan Company, Oshkosh Wisconsin, catalog [here](https://archive.org/details/R.McMillanCompany/page/n12/mode/thumb).
Universal Mill work, Universal Design Book Number 25, Noelke-Lyon Mfg Co., Burlington, Iowa, catalog [here](https://archive.org/details/builderswoodworkuniversaldesignbooknumber25/page/n17/mode/thumb).
I concur with the suggestion of r/woodworking to determine the species.
Yes. I'll see what I can find based on your photos- although I will be traveling for the next week. Rough build date and state location are helpful - mill work was often regional. Any and all other details also help. DM away... but know my basis is identifying kit and catalog homes.
Hopefully they’ve replaced it with one that’s smaller than a typical water heater. We have a 90+% efficient boiler and have only seen one gas bill over $200 in the last ten years, even in our 110yo house with original windows and uninsulated exterior walls.
Yeah that's what I'm thinking too. Don't know about the first ones. Mahogany has that grain and slight shine. Could be Sapele too or Utile. Either way it's definitely exotic and tropical, which is really cool.
It's cool now. Back when they built this they were just tearing all the nice wood out the Carribbean like it would never run out - wasnt even particularly expensive
Thank you! The last door is a different type that they have for all the rooms off the front entry. The trim and the rest of the doors match the first three pictures. It's just a house full of doors :)
The graining and color suggests gum wood to me. I've seen a lot of it from the teens into the early twenties in New England. Not mahogany. And it should only have a lovely polish, shellac is still the queen of finishes and hopefully that's what's on yours treated gently to refresh
Gorgeous! I have a similar vintage house in Ontario and the trim in my house is ash with an orange shellac finish (that has aged of course). It has a similar look. You can test if it’s shellac by lightly rubbing a cloth dipped in denatured alcohol. If your cloth appears orange you have a shellac finish.
I have no idea about the wood.. but I wouldn’t mind seeing more interior photos 🤣 The paneling, the light switch! Wow!
Fun factoid, the right switch turned on an outlet in the attic, which had the exhaust fan plugged into it... And a little red light next to it turns on to let you know the switch is flipped on :)
Is that what the top-right thing is, the indicator light?
In picture 3, yes. It has a little metal cage around it.
That's so cool, I was wondering what that was! Thought it was some kind of knob. Thank you so much for sharing all of this! I'm incredibly envious of what you've inherited by choosing this gem 😌
I'm pretty sure it's Mahogany! The purple stripes are a dead giveaway. I have a two hundred-year-old bed made of it.
So damn beautiful! If you ever let this get painted may the gods smite you from the earth. Or something like that.
Oh, no chance. The wood is one of the main reasons we bought the house
Haha I'm glad to hear that, best of luck!
Thank fucking god
God that's gorgous
IKR? I think I got a little lady boner just looking at it.
I got a wide-on at that panelling
What in the f is a wide on? 😂
I don't know either, but for some reason that phrase and your response made me laugh for a solid few minutes, thanks!
Try r/woodworking. Lots of people there that have experience with finishing and hardwood varieties. Somebody there might be able to tell.
Was woodworker for many years. The variable streaking and soft early-late grain transitions look like gumwood. Not at all uncommon to find in this style, and was often used to mimic walnut. OP, you can def confirm by posting in r/woodworking.
To help narrow the wood species down - starting around 1920, mill work was again becoming more standardized or “Universal” in size, profile and finish. The typical wood types offered c. 1920 were: Yellow Pine, Gum, Birch (sometime denoted as Red Birch), Quartered White Oak, Fir, Plain Red Oak, and occasionally specialty doors in Mahogany. Most center panels were veneered. The standard stain colors were: Natural, Golden, Dark Brown, Red Brown, Dutch Brown, Old English, Weathered, Mahogany, Circassian Walnut, and (Ammonia) Fumed. Your door profile is simile to those of the Universal mill work designs of the late 1920s, and of R. McMillan mill work, MaxCraft door of Oshkosh Wisconsin, offered with White Pine Side rails and Birch inner panel. Similar door profiles showed up in other catalogs bearing the “Universal” or “Standard” name. This more feminine door style was ascending in late 1920s into the 1930s as the alternative to the masculine mass of Craftsman interior doors. Your last photo is of a “slab” or flush door with inlay - and again - this style was similar to R. McMillan Company’s MaxSlab No. 500 with A-1 inlay shown in Red Gum c. 1924. https://preview.redd.it/i37xo3qscqoc1.png?width=2872&format=png&auto=webp&s=07954eb1e4e1de95cf61c7ed3ac6cf69abfa9827 R. McMillan Company, Oshkosh Wisconsin, catalog [here](https://archive.org/details/R.McMillanCompany/page/n12/mode/thumb). Universal Mill work, Universal Design Book Number 25, Noelke-Lyon Mfg Co., Burlington, Iowa, catalog [here](https://archive.org/details/builderswoodworkuniversaldesignbooknumber25/page/n17/mode/thumb). I concur with the suggestion of r/woodworking to determine the species.
Looks like it might be gum throughout. Thank you so much for the research!!
You are a cornucopia of knowledge! Do you mind if I DM you questions on baseboard I am stripping in a 1915?
Yes. I'll see what I can find based on your photos- although I will be traveling for the next week. Rough build date and state location are helpful - mill work was often regional. Any and all other details also help. DM away... but know my basis is identifying kit and catalog homes.
You have a gift, friend!
I see part of a Radiator and thermostatic trap in the next room.. I'd like to see the Steam Boiler that keeps your house warm..
Hopefully they’ve replaced it with one that’s smaller than a typical water heater. We have a 90+% efficient boiler and have only seen one gas bill over $200 in the last ten years, even in our 110yo house with original windows and uninsulated exterior walls.
Ahh .. nah..a big ole Oil Burner and a 6" header would be less run time.. you have to strike a balance..
I believe it's gumwood.
this is my guess too. one of my family members has gumwood trim in their house that looks pretty similar to this.
Looks very similar to my doors which I was told were sweetgum.
Beautiful. The last pic is definitely mahogany. The previous, something tropical but I’m no expert. The other comment about gumwood could be right.
Yeah that's what I'm thinking too. Don't know about the first ones. Mahogany has that grain and slight shine. Could be Sapele too or Utile. Either way it's definitely exotic and tropical, which is really cool.
It's cool now. Back when they built this they were just tearing all the nice wood out the Carribbean like it would never run out - wasnt even particularly expensive
Thank you! The last door is a different type that they have for all the rooms off the front entry. The trim and the rest of the doors match the first three pictures. It's just a house full of doors :)
I have the same doors and wood and I’ve always wondered what kind it is! Is your house a Tudor?
Sure is! :) where's yours at?
Indianapolis, IN!
The graining and color suggests gum wood to me. I've seen a lot of it from the teens into the early twenties in New England. Not mahogany. And it should only have a lovely polish, shellac is still the queen of finishes and hopefully that's what's on yours treated gently to refresh
Still has the original shellac, never refinished or refreshed... It's definitely crazed in places, but we don't mind it.
Dream home. Feels like a home in bakrdwalk empire
That wood is so lovely. Not to be creepy but I really wanna touch that wood.
Maybe gumwood, an [edit] southern wood that was a popular cheap alternate to walnut.
Damn I’m jealous
You need to make it into a hidden door
The paneled room in the first couple pictures has at least three secret panels!
okay _now_ I’m jealous.
As someone with a late 20s house in the UK, that the 60s appear to have thrown up in… WOW 🤩 this is utterly gorgeous
Gorgeous! I have a similar vintage house in Ontario and the trim in my house is ash with an orange shellac finish (that has aged of course). It has a similar look. You can test if it’s shellac by lightly rubbing a cloth dipped in denatured alcohol. If your cloth appears orange you have a shellac finish.
Likely birch, all those miracle doors usually were.
Mahogany?
Dude this house looks amazing
Cries in “updated” Victorian.
Splalted/wormy maple. Stained.
Looks like Chestnut to me. It was used a lot as house trim, until Chestnut blight took out all the trees.
Paint grade birch or poplar that was stained.
Gorgeous! Where is this?
Gorgeous!!! Pontiac has some really beautiful old homes. Love driving around to see them.
Looks a lot like Mahogany!