Millwork Step by Step at Oakleigh Custom Woodworks

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Hastings and Anne Read, owners of Oakleigh Custom Woodworks won a 14-window replacement project for the Dauphin Way United Methodist Church in Mobile, AL.

Most of Oakleigh’s work centers around Mobile’s famous Dauphin Street historic area where homes and businesses are always in need of authentic wood detailing. Among  projects were replacement windows for the Mobile Bay Lighthouse, retail shop windows, and gates, fencing, railings, windows, and doors for nearby homes.

Oakleigh’s process for the windows included custom cross-lap joints, in which continuous vertical and horizontal muntins (rather than single pieces) are notched at each intersection to create a lattice for stronger joints, as well as Low-E glass and Accoya wood, which resists rot and swelling.

“It shows how to compete for business on something other than price,” Hastings says. “This is a case study in how to get the customer away from the price and focusing on the overall benefits.” Read the rest of the story about Oakleigh Custom Woodworks.

With 14 windows measuring 54 inches wide by 21 feet high, the church was Oakleigh’s most ambitious project to date. Replicating the historic windows they replaced, each new unit includes 56 double panes of glass, each with 1/16-inch clearance. The team built a prototype window at full width and partial height to determine a precise construction method.

The windows’ 27 individual and interchangeable parts were made in advance then assembled at one time; each length was made into three subcomponents, then finger-jointed into the final window. To create the arched panes, Hastings made blanks from four pieces of Accoya wood then cut the arches on the CNC machine. All construction,including glazing and painting, was completed in house.