Front Door Refinishing (Houston, Round Rock, West: house, new construction, live)

[RoundRockinite]

I need to get my front door refinished (I'm in Round Rock). I have neither the time or skill so I would like to hire someone.

I found this link: The Door Refinishing Company, Inc. We refinishing your door for as low as 429.95.

The door is an 8ft Mahogany painted "Honey Maple" but looks deep red.

Any recommendations is appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by RoundRockinite

I need to get my front door refinished (I'm in Round Rock). I have neither the time or skill so I would like to hire someone.

I found this link: The Door Refinishing Company, Inc. We refinishing your door for as low as 429.95.

The door is an 8ft Mahogany painted "Honey Maple" but looks deep red.

Any recommendations is appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

I'm all for paying professionals for their expertise but refinishing a painted door "for as low as 429.00" sounds a little spendy. We are replacing our 8' solid wood door with a beveled glass model and the finishing and delivery is less than $200. Door was about $900. PM me if you can wait a couple of weeks for our results. My guess is that you will get some other responses from folks who have lived here longer than we have. BTW, our 4 year old door is perfectly good but DW wants a glass inset...a happy wife means a happy life!

[RoundRockinite]

Thanks! I would be interested to hear how it turns out. The manufacturer gave me a name for someone who refinishes doors on the side and I plan to contact him Monday. I paid $1667 for this door as part of new construction (probably some markup in there!). $429 would still be pricey if I refinish it every year.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by RoundRockinite

Thanks! I would be interested to hear how it turns out. The manufacturer gave me a name for someone who refinishes doors on the side and I plan to contact him Monday. I paid $1667 for this door as part of new construction (probably some markup in there!). $429 would still be pricey if I refinish it every year.

I think 'retail' on our new door was around $1100 for the unfinished unit plus install and finish so saving a couple hundred on the price was appreciated. I've seen similar doors on display at the big boxes(special order) for $1400(including finish). We're in Avery Ranch where some of the homes/doors are 4-5 years old and need refinishing(our current door is sealed with a spar varnish and would need refreshing ~yearly--two hours worth--less than a pint of varnish--BUT it is protected from rain and gets 'some' sun). I'll probably reseal it before our new one arrives--I'll try to sell it to a neighbor.

[UKjay]

I too would be interested in a contact for refinishing a front door.

Our door is in appalling shape (east exposure) and looks like it was never refinished (9 yr old house) by the previous owners. We are concerned that it might be too far gone to refinish. Is that possible?

We had a door refinished in Houston 4 yrs ago, with a glass insert, and it was about $250, so the $450 wouldn't surprise me.

[RoundRockinite]

Well, I had the door refinishing company come and finish the door today. The technician is sealing up the plastic and I need to let it dry for the rest of the day. They had a special going for $379.95 for January so I jumped on it. Considering it took about 6 hours labor and then add materials I think it is money well-spent. The door looks fabulous now! The technician said that the original coat was a mixed stain and "matte" varnish - probably just a single coat. The new varnish looks a lot better than what was on there. He also sealed a couple hair-line cracks with putty :-)

I'm glad I had a professional come so I could see the process. I most certainly would have ruined the door if I had done it. The major step was putting on solvent and then cleaning it off really well. This step removed most of the wear. The staining and varnish steps are fairly easy.

Now that the door has a good base I am confident that I can maintain it here on out.

Thanks for all of the input!
Chris

[Rancher]

I recommend not using Adam Noble. He recently refinished our (2) 8' front doors with tinted glass panels. Unfortunately, he severely scratched multiple glass panels and refused to take responsibility for the damages. He is not insured and does not operate with any business integrity.

It will cost more to replace the glass than it did to have the doors refinished! Caution...Caution!!!

Originally Posted by RoundRockinite

I need to get my front door refinished (I'm in Round Rock). I have neither the time or skill so I would like to hire someone.

I found this link: The Door Refinishing Company, Inc. We refinishing your door for as low as 429.95.

The door is an 8ft Mahogany painted "Honey Maple" but looks deep red.

Any recommendations is appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by Rancher

I recommend not using Adam Noble. He recently refinished our (2) 8' front doors with tinted glass panels. Unfortunately, he severely scratched multiple glass panels and refused to take responsibility for the damages. He is not insured and does not operate with any business integrity.

It will cost more to replace the glass than it did to have the doors refinished! Caution...Caution!!!

Personallly, I'm always suspicious of any poster who has never posted on this forum before and only joined just so their first post could slam a business. Very questionable in my mind.

[texastrigirl]

Regardless of who you use I got a great tip years ago from a guy that Gage furniture sent out to repair something I bought. He recommended 2-3 coats of marine grade varnish over the stain. I bought it at West Marine...it was called Captain's...something or other. My door consistently outlasted all of my neighbor's in the refinishing timeline and ours was the one that got hit with the most sun exposure. In 7 years I only refinished it twice.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by texastrigirl

Regardless of who you use I got a great tip years ago from a guy that Gage furniture sent out to repair something I bought. He recommended 2-3 coats of marine grade varnish over the stain. I bought it at West Marine...it was called Captain's...something or other. My door consistently outlasted all of my neighbor's in the refinishing timeline and ours was the one that got hit with the most sun exposure. In 7 years I only refinished it twice.

ZSpar Coatings - Captains Varnish

I have used it extensively on boats I have owned. Beautiful durable varnish, but they recommend 12 hours between coats.

ZSpar has a new product out called Z-Spar Coatings - Flaghsip Varnish Which they say has even better UV Protection. They recommend 19 hours between coats.

For all practical purposes I have always applied one coat per day until I built up 4 coats. I have read recommendations from other varnish experts saying you can apply another coat after 2 hours or so, when your dry finger slides easily across the surface (no tackiness). But they still recommended you let the previous coats cure overnight before applying the final coat.

UV sunlight, is what makes most wood finishes fail after extended exposure.

On a boat any varnish constantly exposed to sunlight usually has to be redone every year. On a house where the door is protected beneath an overhang you can go much longer. My front door under an overhang on the North side gets very little direct sunlight, it has been 4 years since it was varnished and I'm getting ready to do it soon. We had the house painter do it when we bought the house, he did it all in one day and I suspect applied only 2 coats, but it has held up longer then I expected it to.