Restoration Register

Heritage millwork and moulding matching in Ontario

No mill in Ontario runs the profile in your house as stock. A heritage millwork shop grinds a custom knife from a physical sample of your baseboard, casing or crown and runs new material that matches exactly, which is why one clean offcut is worth protecting through an entire renovation.

Typical scope: grinding knives to replicate baseboard, casing, crown, picture rail and stair parts; reproducing panelled doors to match the survivors in the house; turning newel posts and balusters; rebuilding sashes and jambs to original section; and matching species, usually pine, sometimes oak or butternut. Bring a physical sample rather than a photograph, because photographs lose the small steps and quirks that make a profile read as original. Knife setup is a fixed cost, so order every profile the building needs in one run. Eight of the eleven shops are in the GTA, mostly in the Woodbridge and Bradford industrial belt, and most will ship finished stock anywhere in the province.

What to ask before you hire

  1. Custom knife, or a match from your existing profile library? Both work, but confirm a library match against your physical sample before the run.
  2. What is the minimum run, and what does knife setup cost? Batching every profile into one order is where the savings are.
  3. What species and grade, and is it kiln dried? Matching tight-grain old-growth pine is a deliberate material choice, not whatever is in the rack.
Grant funding

Exterior millwork such as doors, sashes and trim is eligible under every active municipal program. Interior millwork is eligible only where the designation by-law protects interior features, so confirm what your by-law covers first.

Across Ontario

Region pages

Related heritage trades

Get quotes for your project

Tell us about the job and we will pass it to up to three listed heritage trades who work in your area. It is free and there is no obligation.

All heritage service pages · Grants by municipality