Circa 1830 Front door Restore

[jharkin]

Nice work as always Greg....


Your reminding me that I was intending to pull down all the original interior doors we have stashed in the garage loft this year and start working on them......

[gregV]

Another door restore for the same house. This is door number 4, and several more to go.

At some point someone had a dog, or several, that they would lock in rooms or outside. The damage was amazing.


A common area of breakage it seems. This and the other being the impatient removal of door with a hammer rather then a screw driver by the previous owner.


Disassembled


New center rail built.


New style


Reassembled

[Texas_Ranger]

Was that door cut down at some point? It appears to be a bit short.

[gregV]

Yea, the door has been a bit butchered, as most all were. Couple hundred years of the house settling means a hundred years of the doors being trimmed here and there as it does so. Some doors were replaced in those years and were also just cut to fit. Owner is fine with them like this as it saves money not completely repairing them 100%. Also keeps the character of the age of the home. In restoring it I do my best to keep all the un-level and also don't ever return to any 90 degree angles anywhere. I will post some pics of other work in a few min.

[jharkin]

Nice work as always Greg. Those doors are identical to the doors in my place. Can you tell if they are original to when the house was first built?

[gregV]

Opps, .. I see pics may be to big to see all of them. For full pic, click on the links right below them.

Where that above door went.. Floor is original but that wall is not. Floor will be painted.

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseB1.jpg

Another repaired door. Also there was nothing here but a open closet so Idesigned and built this wall.

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseB2.jpg

Same wall

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseB3.jpg

Red door is to attic . Same room

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseB4.jpg

Front of house

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseB6.jpg

Back

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseB7.jpg

[gregV]

Nice work as always Greg. Those doors are identical to the doors in my place. Can you tell if they are original to when the house was first built?

Thanks J.
Yes, many are original to this house. They are also the same as mine. All hinges were the English cast iron butt hinges. All door pulls were missing but for one and was a forged bean. All exterior doors plus the door to basement have forged strap and pintal hinges. Basment has two and all other exteriors have three straps. All exterior doors were double panneled, meaning double thickness with an inside set and outside set of pannels. I had not seen this before, but I am not that worldly.
I replace the back exterior four pannel door with a new built plank door as the original was just too distroyed by dogs.

[jharkin]

Same thing we have here. All our original doors are that 4 panel style with the same "Patent" cast iron butt hinges - some captive others lift off. We are also missing the original pulls but the nail/screw patterns look like a mix of Suffolk and Norfolk style latches.

When I restored 3 of my doors in the front of the house I got replacement iron lift off hinges from Horton and new latches from Historic House. We weren't sure which is right and like the look of Suffolk so I put in a couple forged heart style Suffolk latches. They also kind of matched the dummy Suffolk entrance lockset.

Now that Ive done more research it seems like Norfolk style latches were more likely but this inst a Museum so I'm not about to go change them all again! Maybe I'll do it different in the back ell (might actually work to give the place that evolving over time feel as the flooring and trim in the ell is also later style than the front of the house).

-Jeremy

[oldhouseluvr]

I am in awe of your skill! Nice doors to begin with (even if they were in bad shape) and beautiful and functional after you finished with them.

[gregV]

Thanks.

Few more pics. Still a ways to go here. This is the south parlor chamber

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseA1.jpg

Keeping room back wall

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseA2.jpg

North Parlor

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseA3.jpg

Back keeping room door. Note, painter started with a bad filling job so we stopped him. Frame will be painted, door will be left unfinished.

http://ghmyc_1m.tripod.com/jenshouseA4.jpg



My buddies at the job.