double door Brownstone
Steve from The Tinker’s Wagon is extremely knowledgable, friendly, and fair. Highly recommend! http://www.thetinkerswagon.com/
naomisteinberg
in General Discussion 3 years and 3 months ago
23
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23 replies
mprovy | 3 years and 3 months ago
Hello there, we would need to replace our entrance door for our brownstone. we understand that it could get pretty expensive and was wondering if there some contact you could share? the salvage original doors are too expensive for us unfortunately. thank you much Emmanuel
stevecym | 3 years and 3 months ago
Rebuilding the old doors costs less than having custom made doors built.
Www.thetinkerswagon.com.
andriywww1990 | 3 years and 3 months ago
when we get calls from people who are only just in houses or who have a whole bunch of other things to do inside (bath, kitchen, etc) i find that most people are not financially ready to do doors for 3 or 4 years. that is the economic reality for 80% of my customers.
with something that moves (wood that moves and must expand and contract and swings on hinges) and something that you will be looking at and using every day, it would be better to wait (even 3 years) and do this right than try to find “work arounds”. we have seen all of the work arounds because we usually end up taking them apart and redoing them when people realize they (or the previous owner) made a mistake. i am NOT lying when i say this: i was called to a house in the west 80’s three years ago (about an issue with a window) and on the way out of the house i told the owner “the doors will need restoration”. she said “i am going to let my (generalist) contractor do them”. i told her “he won’t do the job i would do”. to which she replied, “its already budgeted in the larger project”. She ju st called me before Christmas and asked me to come do the doors. she would have been better off removing the doors from the larger job and waiting the 3 years.
We have a call right now from someone who is not ready to proceed. his door is posing a security risk. i am going on site to quote the job but will also be performing temporary repairs to stabilize the doors until he is ready; if you are not ready there might be temporary work-arounds but on something you have to live with for 50 years, there is only one way to do the job.
i am not trying to sell you on doing this job with me. i do not need the work and literally turned away a job in Larchmont yesterday simply because I do not want to drive there. i am trying to give you good advice based on what i have seen people waste money on and based on what i see prudent and careful people do to resolve these issues. and i have seen all of it.
Doors by and stevecym are one in the same.
Guest User | 3 years and 3 months ago
We used woodwork JM and were very happy with his work. We went for new doors, which were an investment, but felt were worth the cost.
evan | 3 years and 3 months ago
Check out Santos, who posts here – very happy w his work restoring salvage doors (which he found) for us; a fraction of the price of installing new custom doors. (347) 701-0635
cynthiab
in General Discussion 3 years and 3 months ago
Vaughan at Heights Woodworking just made me a gorgeous interior door. It was not cheap, but its beautiful.
cynthiab
in General Discussion 3 years and 3 months ago
Vaughan at Heights Woodworking just made me a gorgeous interior door. It was not cheap, but its beautiful.
hasibur.rahman07 | 3 years and 3 months ago
Varying degrees of finish across the three. As long as you are comfortable with the finish, price and working relationship, any of them will fit what you need. Search the forum for all three names so you get a better sense. Keep in mind some woodworkers will not salvage doors.
andriywww1990 | 3 years and 3 months ago
vard, what “finish” are you talking about when you say “varying degrees”? and what are you comparing that against?
neilw | 3 years and 3 months ago
I’ve been looking at https://vintagedoors.com/ and they have quite a few options, and can even get doors thick enough to replicate traditional entry doors. Prices seem relatively reasonable, but 100+ year old entryways may not be the easiest retrofit. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet, and really need a knowledgeable installer’s help.
hasibur.rahman07 | 3 years and 3 months ago
The quality of finish varies from one woodworker to the next. That’s all.
stevecym | 3 years and 3 months ago
Vard, there is a lot more to rebuilding or making a door than the finish. But with the finish, you are correct, there are people using interior finishes outside and for a while we were using an exterior water base finish and had to drop it because it was not as durable as genuine marine products. For clear coats on exterior doors, we now only use genuine marine varnish (petit, epifanes, interlux). Four coat minimum but I put many doors in with 5 or 6 coats. I sand the wood to 120 grit for good mechanical bond and sand between coats at 220.
I will be exploring a product called sikkens soon. I have seen it in the boat yards on long island and recently saw a man using it here by me. That door gets a dose of afternoon sun and I will be watching its longevity over the next couple of years.
The problem with the genuine marine varnishes is only one coat per day can be put on and it slows the jobs down. That does not make it easy in an environment where people have to get done and get paid. The interior lacquer and the water base exterior, at least two coats per da y can be applied. Spraying interior lacquer looks nicer with less effort than the exterior oil products.
For paints, we use ben Moore or sherwin Williams. Once in a while Fine. I have thought about marine paints but suspect they may be made more for fiberglass and might be too hard for the expansion and contraction of wood.
Thank you vard.
Stevecym and doors by are the same.
hasibur.rahman07 | 3 years and 3 months ago
Yes that is correct. I was referring to the visual aspect while you describe methods, process and technical details. Remember homeowners care about how it looks, how it feels, how it functions and whether it will be durable. I cannot speak to the last three looking at photos so initially I would look at it for some kind of visual standard.
Most of us don’t want to know what kind of paint you put beyond will it last and look good. Not saying that’s not important but how many homeowners ask detailed questions about those things.
stevecym | 3 years and 3 months ago
Many people do not realize that the prep work and the technical aspects of applying finishes and particularly exterior finishes is more important than what it looks like. When I have help work for me, I often have to keep an eye on them because even though they have been told and warned that every step is important, they will take shortcuts if they think it will not impair how the visiual at the end. Ask any one who has bought a house from a flipper: everything looks great the day you move in and 6 months later the finishes fail and everything falls apart, including the doors.
Visiual is important. What you dont see is more important and customers have to understand that if somebody who does something everyday cannot look them in the eye and tell them the process, the steps, and name the adhesives and finishes that they use everyday, something is wrong.
hasibur.rahman07 | 3 years and 3 months ago
Of course how it’s built is important but one cannot see that from a photo. I guess never mind. I don’t want to go in circles because my communication isn’t coming across.
andriywww1990 | 3 years and 3 months ago
vard, there is a lot we cannot tell from photos and your communication is coming across to me. working in this and having dealt with customers for years, i get to see what people base judgements on. i was using your comments as a talking point to reinforce that to less experienced home owners. i do appreciate your comments.
Op is not aware of it but i meet a half dozen people a year who think there is a silver bullet to getting something done on the cheap and they regret it in the end. that is why i continued this conversation in the direction i did. people have to understand when things take time and when people want to have skilled people do things, it costs money, especially in a city like new york. it is an expensive place to live and work.
that vintagedoors.com that neilw mentions. i did give them a call a few weeks back and they seem to be the real deal. they are making doors by i think gluing up two solid pieces of wood to make a stile or rail. this was an accepted way to make doors a century ago and they come out fairly stable. i rebuild a c ouple a year made this way and see relatively few problems with that type of construction. i have not asked vintage doors for pricing for entry doors, but when considering whether to rebuild or buy new from a manufacturer located in a region where their overhead is less, it still may not offer much savings because a lot has to be done to install new doors in an old frame (hinge and lock mortises, maybe work on the frame, the hardware and perhaps it has to be trimmed or finished). it is hard to escape the inevitable in old houses and that is things cost money and they cost more money to do correctly.
hasibur.rahman07 | 3 years and 3 months ago
@Evan How much was it to salvage the door (price of door and labor). Several door makers I spoke said they would not be willing to change a door to fit.
Augustiner | 3 years and 3 months ago
I just restored a botched 11ft high entrance door as part of a larger project. Replaced glass with insulated panels. Replaced sanded down trim with sapele (that was a cool $ 2,500 just for just the moldings because the quarter rounds required a custom knife) Inserted an electric door strike for intercom. Fitted rubber gaskets.
Here is are my takeaways:
– it’s a lot of work and you can’t rush it.
– it’s hard to get it sealed because the wood is just warped and old
– If someone quotes 10 to 15k for the job it’s not a crazy number
– if your door is not an elaborate piece of art but 2 square bottom pieces and a half round transom, do yourself a favor: throw it in the trash and recreate it or order a custom one from Europe .Then put some moldings on it and stain or paint it according to taste.
hasibur.rahman07 | 3 years and 3 months ago
@Steve I know the build is important but the finishing is as well. I see inconsistency in finishing in some of these photos. Companies that do multiple things; woodworking, doors etc often do work that’s better in one area.