I refurbished these doors for some clients who are transforming an “Early American Victorian” house downtown Solon, into a beautiful bed and breakfast called the Iowa Street Inn. I grew up in Solon, have walked and driven past this house on innumerable occasions, but never got to appreciate the beautiful old woodwork inside, until last month.
The two doors I was tasked to refurbish had been stored in the cellar basement and had deteriorated considerably, but as with most old pieces, the potential was there. It took some doing, but I deconstructed the doors entirely, glued them back together, re-laminated the oak veneers, replaced missing veneer and core structure, then set about stripping the doors of the dark and faded finish. Three applications later and the doors were ready for a fresh application of stain and finish. I would say they are good as new, but that wouldn’t do them justice. They are better than new now, because the history is still written in the grains, and thanks to my clients will continue to be written for yet another century or more.
* The all brass hardware on these doors is beautiful. Most interesting is the door stop, top left of hardware picture. It had a patent date of DEC 1899, which by my estimation puts it well over 100 years old in use and it still works flawlessly today!
