Repair, Refinish and Restoration

We are a family business specializing in the repair and refinishing of fine wooden furniture. We take pride in being able to bring older pieces back to their original state of structural integrity.  We understand that the artisans and craftsmen of really good furniture relied, not on nails or screws, but on joinery and glue.  Many pieces brought into our shops show the ravages of age, misuse and amateur repairs that must be completely broken (disassembled and joints separated)  in order to properly repair. Many times we see beautiful woods that have been painted and the customer wants to bring back the original beauty but frequently lacks the tools, skills or knowledge to do it themselves. Click HERE for examples of work we have done for customers.

We categorize furniture into one of the following: 

• Antique - typically heirloom items that have extremely high value based on age, provenance, condition, style, rarity.  Most frequently mahogany, walnut or exotic woods. In most cases, attempts to refinish antiques tend to reduce their value. The exception are those old items that are evidenced by severe damage which renders them old but no longer high value items.

• Fine Furniture - typically furniture purchased at high end furniture stores, pieces handed down from parents or grandparents. Most frequently oak, maple, poplar or other hard woods. We frequently see these in good structural condition but needing refinishing due to the wear and tear of time.
  

• Good Furniture - Well built but less expensive furniture, often oak, sometimes of pine, fir, or poplar construction. These are the pieces we see that require the most work to repair and in most every case will require either refinishing or painting.
  

• Other - typically pressboard or plywood construction, most frequently purchased in "big box" stores, shipped flat and assembled by customer. The surfaces of these are most frequently a veneer surface or a photolaminate surface. Once these are broken they become impractical to attempt repair.

What we do:
Structural repair of good or fine wooden furniture
Fabrication of broken or missing parts as required
Restoration of good or fine wooden furniture
Repair of broken or delaminating veneers
Hand removal of old finishes (strippers used only as last resort)
Stain matching or complete re-coloration
Hand rubbed Tung Oil finishing - no poly or other plastic finishes
Hand painting at customer's request
Manual distressing of painted surfaces
Locating matching hardware if possible
Outsource seat caning

What we don't do:
Restore high value antique furniture
Appraise furniture values
Upholster furniture (we will remove all fabric and repair the wood for you to have reupholstered)
Repair pressboard or plywood furniture

 

Services

We love older furniture and it is gratifying for us to help rescue and preserve the beauty of fine wooden furniture. We also realize that not everyone has an unlimited budget. So to that end we will do as much or as little as you want done.

Total Restoration
We do a detailed inspection of all joints, drawers, support structures and all surfaces to determine what repairs are really necessary. If extensive work would be required to bring back the structural integrity, we will advise you before beginning work. We will consult with you regarding the desired finish, color and texture of the refinishing work.

Basic Repair
In the basic repair we do a complete repair as in above, but do no refinishing work other than light sanding as required from wood filler or putty on repaired wood. Be advised that repairs may not always match the existing finish.

Table Top Resurface
Often a table top shows extreme wear while the remainder is in good shape and color. We will remove the existing surface, sanding as necessary, re-stain to match the original finish, then apply several coats of hand rubbed Tung Oil.

Paint or Finish Removal
Only as a last resort do we use chemical strippers to remove old paint or finish. We rely on heat-gun stripping followed by hand sanding as this is the best method to remove paint on intricately carved or shaped pieces. On flat surfaces such as table tops we will use an orbital sander to assure an absolutely flat surface.

Minimal Repair
Often a dealer or purchaser will note a single structural defect that they want repaired but nothing else. We will quote a price for this after inspection.

Pickup and Delivery
We will be happy to arrange pickup and delivery of your pieces based on size and mileage or if you prefer to bring it by our facilities, call for directions.

 

FAQ's

How much will it cost?
Obviously this depends on many factors such as the size of the piece, the type of wood, the degree of intricate design work, if and how much paint must be removed, number and severity of repairs required, parts fabrication requirements, condition of veneer.  Most importantly is our understanding of what you want done - do you want it repaired only or do you want it repaired, reworked and refinished. We will be glad to give you an estimate and upon completion we will give you a full breakdown of the costs.

Is my furniture worth fixing?
We had one customer who spent several hundred dollars repairing a primitive kitchen cabinet that was originally built by her great grandfather. The cabinet had very little resale value but high sentimental value. On the other hand, if you are wanting to sell the item, it may be best to simply repair and not refinish. We can give you a ballpark estimate but you must ultimately decide if it would be worth it to you.

I tried to fix it but it still needs work.
This is a common situation. We frequently must remove all nails and screws, scrape off old glue joints, re-break weak joints, glue, align and clamp the joints to ensure a permanent and professional repair. If you really want to save some money, we can do the repair, then have you remove the old finish, sand and fill where required, then we can finish or we can give you instructions on how to do it yourself

Why do you use Tung Oil
Everyone who repairs and refinishes furniture has favorite way of doing things - for example - some prefer to use the older original hoof based horse glue whereas we prefer the stronger modern specialty wood glues.  Some people are experts in using old shellac or lacquers whereas we prefer a hand rubbed Tung Oil finish.  Why? First is the beautiful luster produced and secondly - if the surface becomes damaged it can frequently be restored by the owner simply by additional application of Tung Oil rather than having to be completely refinished.

 

 

Care of fine wood furniture:

Wood is a perishable organic substance. Properly cared for it can last for centuries. There are many obvious enemies and some that are not so obvious. Perhaps the primary damage we see is caused by humidity - too much or too little. Wood thrives at relative humidity ranging from 50% to 55%.

Too much humidity causes swelling of the wood which can lead to joint breakage. Other problems are possible insect infestation and deterioration of the finish.

More frequently is the case of too little humidity. Long exposure to overly dry environments will cause the old wood glue to fail, resulting in loose or separated joints. Veneer delamination can be caused by overly dry environments. In really severe cases we find that leaving the item outside under some protective canopy will permit the wood to reach a more desirable humidity level so that we can make the best repairs.

In many cases we must fabricate worn out drawer guides or drawer surfaces caused by constant wood-on-wood friction. These surfaces must be lubricated from time to time. DO NOT USE oils or waxes for lubrication. We find the finest lubricant is a bar of Ivory brand soap rubbed on these surfaces. Oils will cause the wood to swell and make the problem worse. Waxes tend to cause even more friction and make it harder to open or close drawer.

Water spotting or cigarette burns on table surfaces. There are many home remedies to help with these frequent problems but we have never been quite satisfied with the results.  If the damage is only slight we suggest the owner live with it. More extensive damage is best remedied by refinishing the top surface.

In the majority of pieces brought to us we see evidence of attempted home repair. Some use nails or screws and we have seen attempts at repair using silicon caulk and even "Liquid Nails" construction adhesive. All of these must be removed and the wood properly prepared before repair can begin.