Before After…Arches Transform a Home

Designed by: Homeowners Roy and Rita Pallatt, with the assistance of Martin Thomas, Sales and Marketing Consultant for CurveMakers, Inc. 

Built by: Roy and Rita Pallatt… As an easy, do-it-yourself project, they take pride in the fact that they installed their arches themselves.

The room: The foyer, where family and guests are welcomed into the Pallatt home.

The project: Fans of Italian Country architecture, the Pallatts wanted their home to evoke a classic style reminiscent of Romanesque structures. After researching various ways in which they could incorporate this look and feel into their home, they decided on the installation of arched openings in their foyer, where family and guests are greeted. One arched opening was installed between the foyer and living room; the other between the foyer and dining room. This simple change, from right angle, box-type openings off the foyer to curved entryways from the foyer into the living and dining rooms yielded dramatic results for all three rooms.

The process: The Pallatts first learned about arched cased openings online. They were impressed with Raleigh-based CurveMakers, Inc. after perusing www.curvemakers.com, where they learned that the company has a strong reputation as a knowledgeable and creative manufacturer of curved millwork both nationally and internationally. Studying the website confirmed the Pallatts’ feeling that the addition of arches would be a relatively inexpensive way to achieve the look they were seeking, while also adding value to their home. After viewing a wide variety of styles and pricing on the website, the Pallats agreed upon several styles that particularly peaked their interest. They then visited the CurveMakers, Inc. Raleigh Showroom to see actual arch samples and to talk to the consultant.

“We were impressed with what we saw, especially with the fact that the arches would be delivered as three-piece, fully assembled kits – An arch top and two side pieces,” says Roy Pallat. “We were pleased with the quality and with the knowledge that this was a project we could do on our own.”

The Pallats provided the dimensions of their existing openings, and with Thomas’ help in sizing arches to fit their space, they placed their order. The Pallats were pleased when they received their arch kits, as promised, within three weeks. The actual procedure of installation involved the following steps:

• First they carefully removed the wood jambs, casings, and baseboards from their existing openings. Step-by-step instructions provided from their CurveMakers, Inc. kits told them exactly what to do.
• Next, they installed sheetrock into the top of the openings. Again, simple instructions walked them through this process.
• Third, the Pallats cut new sheetrock at the top of the openings into the arch shape. They cut out easy-to-use elliptical arch templates that came in their kits to assist with this step.
• The next step of patching new sheetrock to the existing walls could have been the longest, because the sheetrock patch had to dry between coats. However, the Pallats used a quick-setting patch which reduced drying time. While their sheetrock patch was drying, they prepared their arches for painting with an oil-based primer.
• In step five, the Pallats slid the fully assembled elliptical arches into the top of their newly-configured drywall openings. They slipped the columns over the walls on each side, pulling the arches down onto the columns; then aligned the pieces so that the columns were parallel, plumb and level. They then nailed the arches in place.

As a finishing touch, the Pallats trimmed their baseboard pieces and nailed them back in place, puttying holes with patch as needed. They sanded as necessary and painted. At the conclusion of painting, they were done!

The cost: A total of approximately $865 was spent by the Pallats. This included two arches at roughly $400 each, sheetrock patch, and paint. With numerous arch systems available at CurveMakers, Inc., prices range from $200 to $2,000 per kit.

Comments from the homeowners: “The arches turned out great! As far as the installation went, it took longer to paint than to install them. For the most impressive outcome it almost seemed like it didn't take long enough to justify the results. We are very, very pleased.”

For more information on CurveMakers, Inc., please call 919-821-5792 or visit www.curvemakers.com