Renovating 2nd hand doors

Principle 6: Produce no waste

Painting doors are one of the last (internal) jobs to be done in an owner builder house. Ours were all second hand (except one which was a second) and needed quite a lot of work to bring them up to scratch. I'd kept some of the original door plates and handles from the old bungalow which I cleaned up and fitted on freshly painted toilet and bathroom doors. The old paint was difficult to remove, but the putty knife did the trick, with smaller flecs removed with steel wool.

Removing paint from a door handle plate using a putty knife and steel wool

Renovated door handle and plate on newly painted door for the toilet, same was done for the bathroom door

Our front and carport entry doors are the same design. My glazing mate Dylan suggested that I replace the wooden panels with opaque white glass, that he could supply for me from left over stock he had laying around. I liked the idea and went ahead with it, completing the front door some time ago.
The carport entry door was a little more complicated as many of the beads had been eaten through by borers. I ended up replacing all of the internal ones with beads that I had recovered from the house deconstruction - just having enough for the job. I had enough of the original beads in reasonable condition to complete the outside. Quite a bit of putty filling and sanding later I got to paint it. I used a second hand door handle on it to finish it off, the same style that I used on the bedrooom doors in the house.

Graffitied door panel before renovation

Carport entry door with external beads and panels removed, many internal beads damaged by borers

Completed carport entry door renovated with opaque glass panels installed and internal beads all replaced
These slated cupboard doors were given to me by another mate, Mark. They had been gathering dust in his shed for years, and another couple of years in my shed before I finally put them to use. I had thought about using them on the cupboard in one of the bedrooms, and so had set the shelf at the right height when I built it. The doors were all slightly different lengths so I docked them and squared them off after I gave them a good clean.
I needed a frame to attach the doors too, and so found a piece of hardwood suitable for the job which I ripped into three pieces, and then oiled with linseed - twice. The widths of each piece measured so that when the doors and frames come together they all fit in the space that I've got.
The doors took a long time to paint, requiring three coats, and quite a fiddly job. The fitting of the doors was quite a job too, it's an art that I haven't quite mastered - but I am getting better.
The cupboard door handles were replaced with recycled army cupboard door handles, as per the cool cupboard ones. I used magnets to keep the doors closed.

Cupboard doors cleaned up reaady for painting and docked either end so they are all the same length.

Single piece of timber ripped into three, sanded and oiled with linseed to be used to frame the doors

Bedroom cupboard doors fitted with cleaned up recycled handles, as per cool cupboard

Comments

Caro said…
Wow, can you come and finish our internal doors Richard? It's only been 9 years...
Richard said…
Yep, I can do that! Let organise a time.
Terry Arnold said…
You did an amazing job with the entry door, Richard! I love how you expertly concealed all its blemishes from the previous years. It looks new! I actually agree with this kind of practice – reusing doors. It is the old doors, in fact, which are sturdier. And I consider it a waste to just throw them after a replacement.
Vernie Herr said…
Love the carport entry door! You freshened it up beautifully. The color looks so warm. It’s such a creative idea to remove the panels and put glass panes instead. You can enjoy natural lighting that way!

Popular posts from this blog

Crazy paving with urbanite

The 'Super Fridge' (upright freezer conversion)

Cool cupboard completed