During the deconstruction phase of the Restoration, many architectural fragments were found that dated back to the Madison-era at Montpelier.  Sometimes these fragments were found re-used in one piece, as in the case of door frames and windows.  However, very often the fragments had been split or sawn into smaller pieces and then re-used as nailers.  Many of the larger fragments (three to six feet long) found were pieces of baseboards.  Baseboards were reused more than any other building element at Montpelier because they could easily fit against a joist but yet were also thick enough hold a lath nail and so they were ideal lath nailers.