Historical and Architectural Fabrication
About the service
Older homes and historic commercial buildings have details that are simply no longer available from standard manufacturers: millwork profiles that haven’t been in production for a century, hardware in styles and scales that modern catalogs don’t carry, architectural elements that were made by craftsmen working from tradition and not from a purchase order. At re:done, we specialize in researching, designing, and fabricating historically accurate architectural details that bring older buildings back to their original integrity, or that can complete a restoration where elements have been lost.
Why Historical Detail Fabrication Matters
When a historic home has been renovated without regard for its original character, the result often feels off in ways that are hard to articulate yet are immediately apparent. Missing crown molding, replaced windows that don’t match the original profile, or hardware that’s anachronistic in style or scale are details that undermine the integrity of an otherwise beautiful building. Restoring or replacing them correctly is how a historic renovation becomes a true preservation.
What We’ve Built
Our historical fabrication work has included Victorian-era millwork and trim profiles, period-appropriate window hardware and sash lifts, speaking tube components for a late 19th-century home, historically accurate vent and register covers, doorbell escutcheons and cover plates, and architectural rosettes and column hardware.
Research-Driven Process
Good historical fabrication starts with good research. We investigate the original construction date and style of the building, surviving documentation and photographs, and any original elements that remain as reference. Where original examples exist, we measure and match them precisely. Where they’ve been lost, we research period-appropriate designs and adapt them to the specific building.
Materials and Methods
We work with period-appropriate materials wherever possible, including solid wood species that match the original construction, metal alloys appropriate to the era, and fabrication methods that produce the correct visual character. We use modern tools and techniques where they improve quality or efficiency without affecting the final appearance, but we don’t cut corners that would make a period detail look like a reproduction rather than a restoration.
Serving Historic Manhattan and the Flint Hills
Manhattan and the surrounding Flint Hills region have a rich stock of historic homes and commercial buildings that deserve careful stewardship. We take pride in the work we do to preserve that character for the next generation of owners and occupants.
