Last week I helped one of my buyer clients put an offer in on a short sale - pre-foreclosure property. The owners had already moved away, and like many pre and post foreclosure properties, left a few projects undone. Often this is because their original hope is to improve the property, so as to sell it at a high enough value so the loan payoff is not "short". But once the market dips low enough for their hope to not be short diminishes, they leave behind half finished projects.
In this case there were wood trims removed around the door frames, but replacement of them was not complete.
I saw this handy tool at my sister's house, and borrowed it (actually she had an extra that she gave me) as I thought it would be usful for matching attached wood trims without removing one and bringing it to Home Depot to get new wood trims. Sorry I don't know what the name of this tool is, but she did get it at Home Depot. She uses it for ceramics projects.
The tool is basicly a bunch of stiff wires.
You simply push the tool against the wood trim as shown above. The wires push through in the exact pattern of the wood trim.
Then you only need to bring the handy tool to the store with you to match against the various trims available. The wires stay in place until you push the bottom against a flat surface. It works well on an irregular and even curved surface. In this case the right side of the trim is not a flat wall, so the left side is the most accurate as to the depth of the trim needed, and the center portion defines the number of grooves and size of those grooves.
Even if you are not matching existing trims in the same house, you can carefully use it to measure a piece of trim you like in most any house. Often people go to other people's homes before a remodel project in theirs. With this handy tool you can replicate a nice trim you see in someone else's home.
I'm sure I'll find many uses for it, and just wanted to pass on the info about a new tool you might find a handy use for. I'm sure it's not expensive, and you just might want to add it to your toolbox.
Ardell -- Thank you for the suggestion. I can use these tools to draw the cove moldings and trim for our house design, so I went out and bought two of them today.
According to the friendly people at Home Depot, they are called "contour gauges". Unfortunately, the Home Depot in Bellevue does not carry contour gauges.
I was able to buy two contour gauges at the Ace Hardware in Maple Leaf. A 6-inch long metal contour gauge (similar to what you show) cost about $ 12. A 10-inch long plastic contour gauge cost about $ 20.
I think the cost factor tells you the plastic one is better. As I was using the metal one, I found myself worrying that it might leave impressions in the piece I was measuring.
My guess is that would be less of an issue with the plastic one. That the metal one costs $8.00 less might not say, in and of itself, that the plastic one is better, for that and other reasons, that would be my guess.
Reality is: best at what? If the contour you are measuring is so hard, that metal pokes wouldn't possibly damage it, then maybe "good enough" vs. "best" would be an appropriate measurement for that particular task.
That Jasper bought both tells us something. If I only bought one vs. the other...I'd have to go with highest cost factor being "best" to keep in the toolbox.
Jul. 19, 2009 - Metal contour gauge is better than plastic
Posted by Jasper
Loretta -- The metal contour gauge is better (and cheaper) than the plastic contour gauge. Both tools are similarly stiff, so that they do not accidentally "forget" where you pushed the pins to. Both tools have built in rulers. Both tools weigh about a pound per foot of length. The differences are in how easy they are to trace.
The metal contour gauge has a much better resolution -- about 30 pins per inch, and each pin has an accurately cut end. This means that you can draw actual curves. For example, you get 8 points on a quarter-inch round, which is enough to draw the arc. Another way of saying this is that the pins are less than twice the thickness of a 0.5 mm mechanical pencil lead, so your pencil naturally turns the pin depths into a smooth curve or straight line. It is easy to trace either the front side or the back side of the gauge, and flipping the gauge over does not affect how easy it is to trace. The tool is about 2/3" thick, so each side's pins are about 1/3" away from the drawing paper. The six inch long metal gauge weighs 7.3 ounces.
The plastic contour gauge has much worse resolution -- about 20 pins per inch, and each pin has a rounded end. This means that trying to trace a straight line results in a wavy line, and trying to trace a quarter-inch round results in a staggered line, not a smooth curve. The plastic pins are about 3/4" thick, but taper to a point. This means that to draw the mirror image of something, you need to flip the gauge over. Fortunately, it also puts the pins on the paper, so you can trace every nook and cranny of the rounded pins. The 10 inch long plastic gauge weighs 15.0 ounces.
For small objects (less than 6 inches across), I plan to use just the metal contour gauge. For larger objects, I plan to use both gauges -- the 10 inch plastic gauge to make a rough sketch, and the 6 inch metal gauge to fill in the details. If I ever get a 12 inch metal contour gauge, I will probably give a way the plastic gauge.
Thanks, Jasper. It sounds like the one I bought is best for my purposes -- measuring curves on hard ceramic surfaces to match another piece, jigsaw-puzzle-like.
ARDELL
DellaLoggia
On Seattle Real Estate including Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, Green Lake and most areas around Lake Washington North of Downtown Seattle.
Phone: 206-910-1000 - Mailto:Ardell@RainCityGuide.com
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