Erik Nordin, formerly County Supervisor of Ancient Buildings and Monuments, Gävleborg County Administrative Board

The standard of craftsmanship was high even towards the turn of the century. Even the rich timber ornamentation often reveals itself to be solid craftsmanship on closer inspection.


Detailing
Joinery such as linings and mouldings are created with classical profiles, which vary somewhat from district to district. The quality of detailing is the same as furniture making, even outdoors. The carpentry and joinery was always painted even if now most of the paint has disappeared from the exterior details and only traces remain, sometimes revealed through differences in the weather of the timber.

Windows and doors
The windows used were so called leaderlights or as became more common in the beginning of the 19th century window bars of timber. The glass was fitted in grooves in the sash and window bars. This was standard practise up to the turn of the century when factory produced windows became more common. The joinery work was elegantly profiled to let in as much daylight as possible. Architrave's, surrounds and linings were based on classical models, and many local variations were developed.

Doors throughout the 19th century were handcrafted and of the panelled type. These were often raised panel doors, which are usually considered to be a very old type.