In a message dated 5/9/2005 3:05:24 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes: there are irregular joints in the wood every 12-36 inches or so. C- This sounds like "finger jointing" which is a wood-saving technique which utilizes all of the scantlings left over from the milling process. The joints are usually glued up with non-waterproof glue and are very weak. This stuff must be painted, and even then it is very susceptible to decay. In Twybil-land we call it garbage, in Greece they call it scata... In my part of Brooklyn the door surrounds, of softwood, are generally replicative of stone trim elements, and were painted the color of sandstone. Doors, of oak, were clear finished. Twybil