Jason Strauss
03-01-2010, 8:58 PM
I need some advice.
A friend of mine, who’s a remodeling contractor (and not a woodworker), has asked me to determine if I would be able to restore a fire damaged built-in hutch. The fire occurred in a 105 year old home in the town where we both live. While this wasn’t a significant fire, there was significant damage to the interior of the home; most of it smoke related. (Unfortunately, one of the owners was seriously injured by smoke inhalation – apparently overcome while rescuing dogs.) Essentially, this is a gut job for my friend. He’s pulled down everything except the studs and this hutch.
Upon inspection, the lower half and interior of the hutch are in pretty good shape. The upper, glass front, doors and decorative surround sustained most of the damage. I brought one of the doors home to see what I could do with it. The damage appears to be fairly superficial. It looks like the old finish was cooked on the surface of the wood – which I believe is old growth pine (see close-up pic). There does not appear to be any direct fire damage or char. As you might imagine, this wood is quite dry, but does not seem brittle.
Here’s where you all come in…
Before I put the sander to it or some other mechanical scrapping, does anyone have a recommendation for some sort of wood cleaner or stripper? I thought I would first try some warm water and mild dish soap and get more aggressive from there.
So as to match the final appearance of the wood, would it be better just to sand everything down to bare wood and re-finish? You’ll note in the close-up pic that there’s some fairly intricate detail on the outer window stop piece.
Could the wood be too dry to work with without further damage?
Would it be better to just replace the frame and doors of the upper section and try to match up the finish?
Overall, where do I begin?
The owner, who grew up in the house, and is now 65, is somewhat attached to the hutch. Basically, this hutch was the only thing that could possible be save from the fire.
I want to do this right, but not waist time trying to salvage unsalvageable wood. Because I don’t do this for a living, my time (to me anyway) is free. I’ll receive $800 for the job less expenses (this was the amount allotted by the insurance company).
Thanks, in advance, for your assistance!
A friend of mine, who’s a remodeling contractor (and not a woodworker), has asked me to determine if I would be able to restore a fire damaged built-in hutch. The fire occurred in a 105 year old home in the town where we both live. While this wasn’t a significant fire, there was significant damage to the interior of the home; most of it smoke related. (Unfortunately, one of the owners was seriously injured by smoke inhalation – apparently overcome while rescuing dogs.) Essentially, this is a gut job for my friend. He’s pulled down everything except the studs and this hutch.
Upon inspection, the lower half and interior of the hutch are in pretty good shape. The upper, glass front, doors and decorative surround sustained most of the damage. I brought one of the doors home to see what I could do with it. The damage appears to be fairly superficial. It looks like the old finish was cooked on the surface of the wood – which I believe is old growth pine (see close-up pic). There does not appear to be any direct fire damage or char. As you might imagine, this wood is quite dry, but does not seem brittle.
Here’s where you all come in…
Before I put the sander to it or some other mechanical scrapping, does anyone have a recommendation for some sort of wood cleaner or stripper? I thought I would first try some warm water and mild dish soap and get more aggressive from there.
So as to match the final appearance of the wood, would it be better just to sand everything down to bare wood and re-finish? You’ll note in the close-up pic that there’s some fairly intricate detail on the outer window stop piece.
Could the wood be too dry to work with without further damage?
Would it be better to just replace the frame and doors of the upper section and try to match up the finish?
Overall, where do I begin?
The owner, who grew up in the house, and is now 65, is somewhat attached to the hutch. Basically, this hutch was the only thing that could possible be save from the fire.
I want to do this right, but not waist time trying to salvage unsalvageable wood. Because I don’t do this for a living, my time (to me anyway) is free. I’ll receive $800 for the job less expenses (this was the amount allotted by the insurance company).
Thanks, in advance, for your assistance!