Software
Houzz Logo Print
nborse

Refurbish old doors or buy new?

12 years ago
We plan on renovating our 70 year old house and love the existing solid wood doors. However they are covered in layers an layers of paint. Is it worth having them professionally sanded or sand blasted or suck it up and buy new ones. We also may not have enough exiting doors since we are expanding. Please ignore the ugly knob it's temporary. Thanks!

Comments (5)

  • 12 years ago
    SAVE THEM !
  • PRO
    12 years ago
    Ditto.
  • 12 years ago
    Are you planning on having them stained or painted? If you're just repainting them, that isn't that tough.

    Since you're short on doors for your expansion, have a custom door store build you some like it to keep the look of your house.
  • 12 years ago
    From another old house owner...my personal suggestion: Please save & restore them. It's not that hard, and by "not" repainting them, they can truly be showcase pieces in your home. Remove them one at a time. Take out to a back deck or patio area.

    You will need:
    1) A good heat gun. I have extensively used my Wagner for years. After about 6 years, my first one finally siezed up. It owed me nothing! Approx $30 at Lowes. Also, get some scrapers. I use the ones with the yellow handles from Lowes. They are flexible. Too stiff will dig into wood. Also get some cheap toothbrushes & a small can of paint remover.

    **Heat gun & scrapers are great for the large areas on the door & paint remover & toothbrushes are good for tight areas or more detailed spots.

    2) Palm sander (mine has sqare shaped sanding surface) Had a Craftsman. Piece of garbage. Didn't last one year. I kept the plastic plate thing that pokes holes through the sandpaper. Then purchased a Porter Cable...takes a beating! Had it over 6 years. Get some mid to fine grit sandpaper. The big square sheets can be quartered perfectly to fit the head size of the square sander.

    3) Linseed oil & turpentine. These 2 in a 50/50 mix can be brushed onto bare wood & you will be pleasantly surprised how beautiful the wood grain looks! Let this soak in for at least 1 full day. Wipe off any extra oil.

    4) Shellac. All my wood trim has a honey colored look to it. I believe they used Amber shellac. Most common brand is Zinnser. My doors are different. They had mixed Garnet shellac. You can buy these in flakes & you mix them with denatured alcohol.
    Great article: http://www.theunpluggedwoodshop.com/shellac-attack.html

    It takes a little time & patience to get the heat level & distance from door/paint just right. I'd start on low. You'll get the hang of how close to hold the heat & as it begins to bubble up, start scraping & wiping loose paint onto old newspapers.

    I'm sure you're a little aprehensive about trying this, but I can assure you, once you do this one time you'll feel like a pro! You will save a tone of $$ & have the bragging rights to making your doors gorgeous again!

    Take the $ you've saved & hit an architectural salvage place & get yourself some sweet glass doorknobs! The one below is mine. It needs a little touch up & with shellac...I can wipe down the alligatored area with denatured alcohol to smooth it out & put another coat of shellac directly on top. It has a way of melting/blending into itself. Amazing stuff & 100% natural. It's made from shell bugs!
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellac
  • 12 years ago
    Oh...one more thing...new doors, even if they are wood, will not have the structural integrity or density of your old growth wooden ones you have. Those a gems. You just hadn't realized it yet! :0)