Hardwood Mouldings

Solid hardwood skirting, architrave, dado rails and panel moulding in twenty profiles, each drawn from a Victorian, Georgian, Edwardian or contemporary original. Every profile runs across all four mouldings, so a room can be finished in one hand.

Currently machined in American tulipwood, a close-grained paint-grade hardwood. Oak is being added to the range.

Made to order Moisture-resistant MDF Made in Britain

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Matches our skirtingCoordinated profile families

Moisture-resistant MDFWon't warp, twist or crack

Made in BritainMachined in our Epsom workshop since 2003

UK delivery in 5–7 working daysOr free collection from Epsom

Hardwood Mouldings Overview

What are hardwood mouldings?

Hardwood mouldings are machined from solid timber rather than pressed board. They take a crisp arris, they can be sanded and refinished years later, and they hold a painted edge without the softness you get at the corners of a softwood profile. Ours are cut from American tulipwood — stable, close-grained and happy under paint, which is why it has been the joinery trade's paint-grade hardwood for decades.

Solid wood, MDF or softwood?

Most timber mouldings sold in the sheds are pine: cheap, knotty and easily dented. MDF is the better buy for a painted finish in an ordinary room — it costs less, never moves, and painted up nobody can tell. Solid hardwood earns its place where the moulding takes knocks, where a period property deserves real timber, or where you want the option to refinish rather than replace. If painted MDF is the right answer for your job, see the MDF skirting boards.

Period mouldings, four ways

These are period mouldings in the proper sense: each of the twenty profiles is taken from a Victorian, Georgian, Edwardian or contemporary original and then run across every moulding in the range, so the same line carries round the room — skirting boards, architrave, dado rails and panel moulding.

What it costs to set up a profile

Each profile has to be tooled before anything is machined, so a one-off £120 set-up charge applies per profile per order — not per length — and is waived entirely once the order reaches £500. Ordering the skirting, architrave and dado rail in a single profile incurs it once. The set-up fee page sets out how it is applied.

Overview

The common questions, answered — so you order the right profile first time.

Not yet. The range is machined in tulipwood at the moment and oak is being added — if oak is what you need, get in touch and we will tell you where it has got to rather than have you guess from the website.

Solid hardwood costs several times what painted MDF does, and each profile carries a one-off £120 set-up charge per order — not per length — because the cutters have to be tooled up before anything is machined. That fee is waived once your order reaches £500, and ordering skirting, architrave and dado rail in one profile only incurs it once.

The set-up fee page sets out exactly how it is applied.

For a painted finish in an ordinary room, often yes — MDF costs less, never moves with the seasons and gives a perfectly flat painted face. Wood wins where the moulding takes knocks, where a period property deserves solid timber, or where you may want to sand and refinish it in ten years rather than replace it.

Compare the MDF skirting boards with the hardwood skirting boards.

Yes. American tulipwood — sold as poplar or yellow poplar — comes from a broadleaf tree, which is what makes a timber a hardwood. It is lighter than oak, and that is the point: it holds a sharp arris and takes a knock like a hardwood, but it is light enough to fix without a fight. It is not related to Brazilian tulipwood, which is a different timber.

For a painted finish, a close-grained hardwood like tulipwood is the best of both worlds: it machines to a crisp profile, it survives knocks, and it takes paint without the grain telegraphing through. Pine is cheaper but dents and the knots bleed; oak is harder and dearer, and is better left visible than painted.

Our range is machined in American tulipwood, with oak being added.