NOTE Finish carpentry is the trade that sets the visible wood trim a building's occupants touch and stand next to every day - the base where wall meets floor, the casing that frames a door, the crown that caps a room. (1.1.1)

NOTE Because these elements are seen at close range and at eye level, the work is judged by joinery and fit, not by structural capacity; a 1/16 inch gap that would be invisible in framing is a punch-list item here. (1.1.2)

NOTE The distinction that organizes this whole section is "stock versus custom." Stock trim is pulled from a catalog by profile number and installed in the field. Custom millwork is drawn, shop-fabricated to a specific design, and delivered as a finished assembly. This standard covers only the former. (1.1.3)

NOTE A complete finish-carpentry specification cites two complementary AWI documents, not one: ANSI/AWI 0620 governs the installation - the field tolerances, fit, and workmanship - while ANSI/AWI 0622.0646 governs the millwork and trim products themselves. Referencing only one leaves either the product or the installation undefined. (1.1.6)

NOTE Custom shop-fabricated casework, cabinets, and built-ins are excluded; specify them under Wood And Laminate Casework. (1.2.1)

NOTE Architectural wood paneling systems, wainscot panel assemblies, and wall panel systems are excluded; specify them under Architectural Wood Trim And Paneling. (1.2.2)

NOTE Structural framing, in-wall blocking, backing, and rough door bucks are excluded; specify them under Rough Carpentry and Wood Framing. The presence and location of that backing is, however, a prerequisite this section depends on and verifies. (1.2.3)

NOTE Field painting, staining, and clear-coat finishing of installed trim is excluded; specify it under Interior Painting. This section delivers the substrate; finishing is a separate trade scope that must be sequenced against it. (1.2.4)

NOTE Exterior millwork, exterior trim, and exterior cladding are excluded as outside the interior fit-out focus of this section. (1.2.5)

NOTE Custom millwork that requires shop drawings, project-specific profiles, or architectural-woodwork fabrication is excluded; that work is architectural woodwork, not finish carpentry, and is specified under Architectural Wood Trim And Paneling or a dedicated casework section. (1.2.6)

NOTE NAAWS 4.0, published jointly by AWI and the Woodwork Institute, is a parallel installation and quality document used in Canada and parts of the western United States; where a project specifies NAAWS in lieu of ANSI/AWI 0620, the equivalent NAAWS grade and tolerance provisions govern. (2.2.1)

NOTE A cut-sheet submittal is required even for stock profiles. A catalog photo is not a submittal; the package must pin species, profile, moisture content, finish state, and grade so the installed product can be verified against what was approved and substitution disputes are closed before they start. (3.1.1)

NOTE AWI 0620 defines three installation grades - Economy, Custom, and Premium - and each grade sets a different bar for allowable tolerances, permitted natural and machining defects, and finish appearance. The grades are not vague adjectives; they are a defined system the installer is held to. (4.1.1)

NOTE Failing to declare a grade is the classic source of finish disputes. With no grade stated, an installer reasonably defaults to economy-level fit, and the resulting gaps and offsets surface at substantial completion when they are most expensive to argue about. State the grade up front and the standard of care is settled before the first piece is cut. (4.1.2)

NOTE Custom grade is the appropriate default for roughly four of five commercial, multi-family, institutional, and government fit-out projects; it delivers a tight, professional appearance without the cost premium of Premium-grade joinery and material selection. (4.1.3)

NOTE Discovering absent backing after the wall is closed is one of the most common and most avoidable delays in this trade; the verification clause above exists precisely so that the missing-blocking RFI is raised while it can still be fixed cheaply rather than at trim-out. (4.2.3)

NOTE Wood is hygroscopic: it gives up and takes on moisture until it reaches equilibrium with the surrounding air, swelling and shrinking across the grain as it does. Trim installed wet shrinks and opens joints; trim installed dry in a humid season swells and buckles. The defenses are correct moisture content at installation and a properly conditioned space - calendar days alone are not the requirement. (5.1.1)

NOTE The single most damaging field error is installing trim before the building is fully conditioned. Acclimation language that cites only a number of days, with the HVAC off and the slab still releasing moisture, guarantees joint gaps and nail pops after occupancy. Acclimation is to the in-service condition, not to the jobsite as found. (5.1.2)

NOTE There is no single best trim material; each common option trades cost, dimensional stability, paintability, and moisture tolerance differently. The right choice depends on whether the trim is painted or stained, whether it sees moisture, and the project's budget and grade. (6.1.1)

NOTE Paint-grade MDF is the workhorse of commercial and multi-family fit-out - dimensionally stable, dead flat, with crisp molded profiles and a factory-primed surface that paints beautifully. Its one disqualifying weakness is moisture: MDF swells irreversibly when wetted and must never be used in wet or periodically damp areas. (6.1.2)

NOTE Finger-jointed primed pine is the cost-effective solid-wood choice for high-volume painted work; short clear blocks are joined into long lengths, then primed. It is stable and economical but is paint-grade only - the finger joints telegraph through clear and stained finishes. (6.1.3)

NOTE Clear solid pine and poplar serve standard commercial and institutional painted and stained work; oak and maple serve stain-grade institutional and hospitality work where a visible hardwood grain is wanted. (6.1.4)

NOTE Poplar deserves a note of its own among the solids: it is a hardwood by botanical classification and machines and paints cleanly, but its greenish, blotch-prone grain makes it a paint-grade choice in practice. It is the default solid-wood paint-grade trim where finger-jointed stock is not wanted because clear lengths must be visible. (6.1.5)

NOTE Cellular PVC is specified where wood is inappropriate - high-humidity rooms, semi-wet areas, and locations where a wood profile would swell or rot. It is moisture-immune and paintable but moves more with temperature than wood, so joinery and fastening detail differ. (6.1.6)

NOTE Thermally fused laminate and high-pressure-laminate-wrapped MDF profiles serve healthcare and commercial spaces that require a durable, wipe-down surface integral to the trim. (6.1.7)

NOTE Pre-finished stain-grade solid or engineered profiles, finished in the shop before delivery, suit architectural and boutique hospitality work where field finishing is impractical or where a controlled factory finish is wanted; they shift finishing risk to handling and protection rather than to the painting trade. (6.1.8)

NOTE The surface-preparation state is a coordination decision, not just a product attribute: it dictates how the painting trade is sequenced against this work. Pre-primed trim assumes walls are primed before trim is set, then top-coated after; reverse that order and raw overlap edges and caulk lines are left unfinished. (6.2.5)

NOTE Only stock catalog profiles are within this section. A profile that must be custom-milled to a project-specific drawing is architectural woodwork, not finish carpentry, and belongs in a different scope and a different submittal path; specifying a custom profile here creates a fabrication and submittal gap between the millwork fabricator and the carpentry subcontractor. (7.1.1)

NOTE Base molding height is the most visible scale decision: residential work runs 2-1/4 inch to 3-1/2 inch, while commercial and institutional work runs taller, commonly 3-1/2 inch to 5-1/4 inch or more, to hold proportion against taller ceilings. (7.1.2)

NOTE Crown molding is sold in two stock spring angles, 38° and 45°, which set the projection-to-drop ratio and the cope geometry; 45° is the more common choice in commercial work. The spring angle must be coordinated with available ceiling-to-wall clearance and with any cove lighting or soffit above. (7.1.3)

NOTE Window stool and apron, where specified, shall be furnished with the stool notched to the rough opening and the apron returned to the casing, sized to the wall and casing thickness. (7.1.4)

NOTE Under IBC Chapter 8, interior trim is not exempt decoration - it is a regulated interior finish with a flame-spread and smoke-developed obligation that varies by occupancy. Omitting this requirement invites code-review comments and, worse, field material changes after the trim is already ordered. (8.1.1)

NOTE The classes derive from ASTM E84 (the tunnel test): Class C is flame-spread index ≤ 200 and smoke-developed index ≤ 450; Class B is flame-spread index ≤ 75; Class A is flame-spread index ≤ 25. (8.1.2)

NOTE The 10% area threshold matters because ordinary running trim - base and casing - rarely exceeds it, but extensive applied wainscot, full-height picture-rail-and-panel schemes, or dense decorative trim can. Where the design pushes trim coverage up, the Class B obligation in assembly spaces is triggered and the material must be selected to meet it from the outset, not discovered at code review. (8.1.5)

NOTE Tolerances are what "good finish carpentry" actually means in measurable terms. The Custom-grade values below are the 80%-case default; declare Economy or Premium and these numbers shift accordingly. (9.1.1)

NOTE The craft of this trade lives in the joints. Where two pieces of trim meet, the joint must stay closed through seasonal humidity cycling, and the techniques below - coping, gluing miters, landing scarf joints on solid wood - all exist to keep joints from opening when the wood moves. (10.1.1)

NOTE Coping is the correct technique for inside corners of profiled running trim (base and crown) because the joint stays tight as the wood moves and as corners go out of square; an inside miter depends on the corner being perfectly 90° and on the wood not moving, so it opens with any humidity change or framing imperfection. (10.3.1)

NOTE A coped inside corner is cut by mitering the second piece, then back-cutting along the revealed profile line so it nests over the face of the first piece. Unlike an inside miter, a cope does not gap open at the visible face when the corner is slightly out of square or when the wood shrinks - the joint hides its own movement. (10.3.2)

NOTE The fastening method shall suit the substrate, profile width, and required appearance. Pneumatic finish nails are the default for most painted trim; trim screws develop more holding power on dense or hollow substrates; adhesive plus pins or hidden clip systems are used where a fastener-free face is required. (10.4.1)

NOTE The transition where trim meets painted drywall shall be detailed as either a caulked joint or a tight fit, and that decision shall be coordinated with the painting trade so the required joint tolerance and paint sequence are understood before installation. (10.5.1)

NOTE Storage on a damp slab or against masonry is a frequent cause of one-sided moisture uptake: trim wicks moisture from the contact face, cups toward the dry side, and arrives at installation already distorted despite a correct shipped moisture content. The flat, supported, off-floor storage requirement above exists to prevent exactly this. (11.1.5)

NOTE Joint opening, cupping, or movement attributable to the building being placed in service outside the specified temperature and humidity range, after acceptance, is excluded from the installation warranty. (12.1.2)