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Antique Door

dmt | Posted in General Discussion on March 30, 2009 02:32am

A friend is building out his basement. His wife bought an antique door for what will be a wine cellar. Unfortunately, the door is warped about 1″ out of plumb (top of door to bottom). The door was apparently stored leaning against the wall in the damp basement of an antique shop for many years.

I have no idea how old the door might be, but it has exposed through mortise and tenon joinery (I suspect that at some point it was trimmed from its original width, thus the exposed joinery). The door is about 30″ wide and 78″ high. It has some interesting hardware, including a brass knob placed about 6″ higher than todays knobs, a brass plate such as is seen on many commercial doors today to push against, and a brass covered keyhole. It appears the finish is varnish that has turned black. The wood is probably pine, but could be poplar.

An suggestions as to how to remove the warp, short of cutting the door into pieces and rebuilding, will be appreciated.

 

 

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  1. Piffin | Mar 30, 2009 03:04am | #1

    A lot of doors were built with exposed thru-mortises so that may be origianl if the stiles are a good 4" wide.

    Just turn the door down side up and the knob will be at the right height.

    The blackening is probably mildew.

    Lay the door down on horses in the same plane, with the curve belly up and place weight on it there. put a steam vapourizer under it to add moisture to that side. Monitor it.

     

     

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    1. user-51823 | Mar 30, 2009 03:09am | #2

      I doubt he's talking about mildew. Many of my older interior doors are a deep dark brown, not quite black, and it does appear to be a varnish that has oxidized quite dark. IIRC, shellac can turn that dark over many many years. I've stripped a few to discover pine or oak, with no mildew spots.

      1. Piffin | Mar 30, 2009 03:23am | #3

        could be - but he mentioned a damp basement. 

         

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        1. user-51823 | Mar 30, 2009 04:13am | #4

          True, but mildew isn't uniform and is pretty easy to identify-- I'm picturing that the door looks like the dark doors and other furniture I have, which I have been told "tanned" over the many many decades.I would say that the warp is more from leaning not perfectly square than from dampness.

          1. Piffin | Mar 30, 2009 04:25am | #5

            I've seen whole walls and doors black from mildew - evenly.it takes a lot of time and is not that common, but it does happen 

             

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          2. user-51823 | Mar 30, 2009 05:03am | #6

            Me too, but again, it's pretty easy to identify as such and generally has an off-putting smell, which doesn't sound like the OP's description.

    2. User avater
      dmt | Mar 30, 2009 06:36pm | #10

      Good suggestion -- hadn't thought about a vaporizer. I know warped lumber can sometimes be straighten by laying it on damp ground but since the door is finished I didn't think moisture would work.

      I was not clear about the finish. It does not appear to be mold. The finish is very rough and dry -- nothing rubs off. I am sure it is either varnish or as another poster mentioned it could be shellac.

      Also, I was not clear about the warp. The door is hung with hinges on the right side when facing the door. The top left corner is out of alignment at the top about 1", then tapering downward for about 18", not the entire door. 

      1. Piffin | Mar 30, 2009 06:47pm | #12

        One corner only makes it much harder. You can try the tension and steam, but odds are she bought a twisted door and will need to learn to like it and live with it. 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

  2. User avater
    popawheelie | Mar 30, 2009 05:39am | #7

    I'd do what Piffin said. Also, if the curve isn't perfect you can force one of the hinges into place. Set the two pins and get some help getting the last one in.

    The hinges would have to held pretty well since there will be more force on them in ways they weren't meant to be subject to.

    I would get it closer as Piffin suggested. 1" is a lot.

  3. User avater
    Huck | Mar 30, 2009 03:58pm | #8

    my thought is, Its an antique.  Don't mess with it, just build the door stops curved to accomodate it.

    "...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn

    bakersfieldremodel.com

    1. user-51823 | Mar 30, 2009 04:28pm | #9

      :-) that's what I was thinking, but was afraid to suggest

    2. User avater
      dmt | Mar 30, 2009 06:41pm | #11

      That is the next option. Anything that would damage the door is not an option. I'll try Piffin's suggestion. 

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