Fire Damaged Hutch Restoration

[Jason Strauss]

This built-in hutch was damaged in a house fire. Mostly smoke damage, but some charring, particularly at the top of the piece. I saved as much as I could, but ended up having to re-create all of the outer trim pieces as well as the molding details around the mirror and other areas. The drawers are also totally recreated because one of the originals was lost and the remaining three were in very rough shape.

Because the original finish seemed to be shellac, I was able to simple do a thorough cleaning of the inside with water and then denatured alcohol. I then gave the inside two fresh coats of shellac. The remaining surfaces were sanded from 80 to 220. All newly created outside surfaces took a bit of experimentation with lots of different stain combinations. I found a mix that I liked and then top coated everything with three coats of amber shellac.

You can still see some charring in certain areas, but I think that adds to the character of the piece. I was told the house was pretty old, but none of the other subs-contractors knew the exact age. When I finally got around to cleaning up the mirror (which was 5/16” thick) the back was stamped with “JULY 1908”.

This was my first restoration job. Not something I’d want to do everyday, but satisfying in the end.

[Dave Gaul]

I looked at the pics before I read your post. In the last pick, I could tell some charring marks were left in place... I like that and agree, lots of character, not sure how you would get much more character in something like that!!!
Also nice to see that the owner didn't just trash/scrap it... hope this piece is around for another 100 years + !

[Mike Wilkins]

Talking about making a silk purse from a sow's ear. This turned out to be a really fine restoration job. 2 questions:
1. What species of wood is this (looks like pine).
2. Who is the guy in the glass reflection????
3. Sorry, 3 questions. Type of finish.

[Jason Strauss]

Dave / Mike, thanks for the nice comments. As for your questions, Mike...

1. Everything is pine. The original existing wood was that really old type pine that is exceptionally hard. I replaced the damaged parts with very clear (and suprisingly expensive) furniture grade white pine.

2. A ghost...with a cell phone camera...GGGHAAA! Okay, it's me.

3. I left the old wood alone. Even after sanding, the patina was still pretty dark. The new wood parts were stained first - Varathane from Menards (lots of color choices) - 1 part Chestnut to 3 parts Golden Pecan. I then top coated with Zinsser Amber Shellac, 0000 steal wool sanding after the first coat, and then two more coats.

[Doug W Swanson]

Nice work. You did a great job of matching the original....

Doug