Door Restoration (living, costs, shop)

[cla]

My front door is 5 1/2 yrs old now and the very bottom is starting to show a little wear, so I want to have it refinished. A coworker recommended restoreyourdoor.com.

I would appreciate any feedback on this company as well as other recommendations.

Thanks in advance

[johnsmith]

you can do it yourself, put some prime paint on it

[cla]

It is a stained and lacquered with a leaded glass panel. This company takes your door to their shop, removes all hardware and glass, strips and refinishes, cleans the glass and polishes up the hardware. Takes about a week or so.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

What you see is the premature failure of the finish, most likely because it was done with a "environmentally friendly" water based finish. I'd get an assurance from the people doing your door that they will use an oil based product, the finish will last much longer. Water based finishes look good, but begin to fade out and waste away after about a few years. The company sounds like they do it the right way, avoid those who will do it without removing the door, there is no way you can get 100% with a door that is still hung, and used... unless they use a water based finish that dries quickly.

[kreeyax]

Originally Posted by cla

It is a stained and lacquered with a leaded glass panel. This company takes your door to their shop, removes all hardware and glass, strips and refinishes, cleans the glass and polishes up the hardware. Takes about a week or so.

So you have no front door for a week? Do they install a temporary door for you?

[fnh]

My neighbor and I both had this done within the last few months using Custom Door Restoration, Jose Lopez, 281-780-8268. Ours is a very heavy, leaded glass door that had a poorly repaired split in it and would have cost $5K to replace. They removed the door and boarded up the opening for 2-3 days while it was worked on. Completely refinished, you can't see or feel where the split was and it looks fantastic. I can't remember the exact cost but I recall $400-500, a typical refinish job costs around $350 but ours had the issue of the split.

[cla]

They offer 2 finishes (after staining with Sheffield oil stain) - 4 coats polyurethane or 5 coats Pratt & Lambert UVA Spar Varnish.

And, yes, they do provide a temporary door.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Go for the spar finish; it is a marine grade finish that has excellent protection from moisture, and UV rays. The spar finish costs more I'm sure, but well worth it I think.

[crone]

What I learned from my brother who builds big sailboats for a living and from my own experience.

There is no varnish that will stand up to the sun. After having my mahogany doors refinished 3 times, I finally stripped them down and applied Sunwax. I do it once a year. It takes about an hour to do 2 8 ft. doors with no glass.

[ChocolateBabz]

Neighbors of ours recommended a company called The Door Guys, I haven't used them personally but I always try to write down when someone s recommended.