Door frames (1 Viewer)

[MikeD]

I think there are about 37 layers of paint on them already.

Might it be easier just to get new door frames fitted?

I stripped the paint back on our stairway and then sanded so the new varnish looked lovely.

Took ages, wore out a heat gun and a sander and covered the whole house with dust.

I would pay someone else to do it or just replace them whilst you have "yet" another beer.

ps: you are going to be drunk before this end of this thread

But full of confidence to tackle the subject with the wife.

 

[chrisgreen]

1930's I think

probably brick,in the thirty's they used to fit the frames as they built the walls,so you might find they left the horns on the frame at the top,this presents its own problem when trying to remove them,just use a heatgun and a scraper and be prepared for stinking the house out, it's a dirty job, but not beyond a true novice.

 

[Badknee]

Have you told her yet or are you still working up to it you chicken?

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[Chris]

it's all part of a major refit we are having.

New kitchen, house redecorated , some damp proofing etc.

I thought I could do some of the work but I think I will leave it alone and get a quote for the lot

 

[chrisgreen]

We did that with some old 2 panel decorative interior doors......the wood shrank and the joints popped.
they would be well over 75 years old.

the doors i had done were fine,they were dipped and sealed with bees wax.
but i have replaced all the doors now.

 

[TheBig1]

or alternatively use all the safety gear and mask up well to use paint stripper. applied liberally with a brush, wait 10 minutes for it to melt the paint then scrape off. still needs sanding, but less messy

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[chrisgreen]

it's all part of a major refit we are having.

New kitchen, house redecorated , some damp proofing etc.

I thought I could do some of the work but I think I will leave it alone and get a quote for the lot

probably for the best.

 

[wingman]

Don't listen to this lot Chris. You will wind up with a re-plastering job in every room in addition to painting!

If you are persuaded, I take it you are talking about taking off the architrave rather than pulling the whole frame out? If so, it is NOT an easy option. You will need to measure for timber, then get it (ensuring the length you get is not warped!), then cut it to size, then mitre the joints, then prime the virgin timber, then rub that down, then paint on a gloss coat if you want a nice finish AND that's for just ONE door!

I use wet n'dry (the car type) paper on my door frames and gloss work. Cleans off the scuff marks at the same time as rubbing down. It also gives a great 'key' for the gloss paint. My frames feel like glass as a result and I ain't a professional!

Burning the paint off is another pain. If you're not used to it, you can take chunks out of the frame with that triangular scraper and spend hours with filler! Also, there's the collateral damage to the walls by cracking the plaster, not to mention a new carpet when it get scorched!

I would either just rub down and re-paint, or get a divorce

 

[GJH]

1930's I think

Tell her the frames are listed at that age and can't be touched without permission from English Heritage.

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[PORKSTER]

D.I.Y. don't involve yaself

 

[Badknee]

He's not answered 'cos he got pissed, told her he's not doing it and he's now in hospital recovering from the beating 'err indoors gave him.

 

[jhorsf]

Chris would you tell someone to diy a will or a house sale ?
Spend the hours it would take you to do a couple of frames as a solicitor it will pay for a tradesman to do what SWMBO wants done.
that is my advice feel free to use it without a fee

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[Carol]

Chris, my Eddie had his own Painting & Decorating business for years, not a job to do in your spare time to do it properly would take a few week ends get the professionals in. Save a lot of hassle .

 

[Phill D]

i am quite hand with my "tools"! but i hate doing this type of stuff. i'd rather rip it off and pre paint and put new back BUT you have to have at the very least some skill with a saw and a mastic gun ( stick em back on and then decorators caulk the gaps) if you are re painting that is....

Know what, get a man in!!!

 

[Phill D]

PS; as has been said above it aint a weekend job. Get a man in and charge it to a " Client"!

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[Bertie Bassett]

Chris as you appear share the same level of diy skills as me, Obi wan kenobi and Shrek my advice is to follow the wonderful advice provided freely on here. Leave well alone mate, really.

 

[Dogeared]

Unless you need to strip them right down, the simplest and cheapest way, least mess, is to get Mangers sugar soap wipes thom screwfix, does the job and gives a reasonably decent surface for new paint to adhere to

 

[rangi]

IF??? you do it yerself, Heat gun, flat bladed scraper, ONLY USE ONE WITH A BLADE LESS THAN 1MM THICK, this will be flexable, and will help you with the flat surfaces, cover everything in reach with a good quality cloth, protect the carpet at the foot of the timber using a good quality masking tape, once the paint is removed, Sand, it helps if, when you use a sander if you can join it up with a Vac cleaner, either directly to the sander, or sander in one hand vac hose in the other, you might find you have white spots in the wood thro the original Painters using white lead to cover nail holes, this needs to be dug out, DO NOT apply any filler until you have sealed the timber with a base coat, this prevents ugly smears of the filler being sealed, sealer penetrates the wood if the wood is raw, seal it first then the filler

Do not use any water based varnish, only an oil based, WHY?
When two surfaces come together, and both are covered in a waterbased paint, they stick together.
1930 HOUSES were generally painted with a lead based paint, you burn it off? breathe the fumes? Bye Bye Chris!

I, personally would either pay someone else to do it, or move house, or divorce, or pay for the misses to go to lessons to do it herself, after heavily boosting her Life insurance policy

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[MattR]

Get the doors dipped to strip them of all of the paint - some of which may contain lead if they are 85 years old so don't sand or a use a heat gun. See what they are like after dipping and decide what to do - they may be fine, need restoring or replacing. Probably, they will be fine, assuming that you use a good dipping company. Alternatively, if SWMBO says that you must do it, tell her that want some money to pay for a stripper to help you out

 

[tofo]

But can an idiot actually remove and replace it without causing havoc?

if the id10t does it

gets it wrong

im thinking after the initial aggresion sorry argument

yuoll never be alowed to do it again

thats why i am not alowed to gloss paint at any price
tiling plumbing electrical building but no gloss painting
but i do hate gloss painting it STINKS

 

[MattR]

I love gloss painting with liquid gloss it is so satisfying. Remember not to leave the windows open at night when it is warm outside otherwise insects will commit hari kari on your paintwork.

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[treetops1]

I think you would be wise not to strip the paint as it still leaves lots of work to bring them to a painting standard ,Get yourself an electric palm sander (small & square) and sand them ,rough sandpaper to start fine to finish nice and smooth ,and you can still use a bit of wet& dry on your sander and make sure you get a couple of dust masks . They will come up like glass lol.

 

[tofo]

I love gloss painting with liquid gloss it is so satisfying. Remember not to leave the windows open at night when it is warm outside otherwise insects will commit hari kari on your paintwork.

reminds eye first diy i ever did
mrs t wanted lounge doors painted when i was about 26
she said idont want any runs ,
then she went to her mums left me to it
i unscrewed the door took it outside
laid it on the table
painted the door left it to dry in the sunshine
nearly guranteed no runs its laying flat
so i went in painted the frames and skirtings
got up looked round pleased with the result,!
then disater struck
mrs t came home she looked a little agitated
after she checked the door,
i thought now what have i done?!
she said have you seen that f!??door its covered
in f!!!!!! flys what was f thinking take f!!!!! door out in the f sun
what did you expect
well as i sulked i turned round to go to the kitchin
and make a cuppA as i did so i kicked the gloss paint over
not solid paint but nice runny down your arm white paint straight over the new shag pile carpet seems i never had a father or grandfather hence never been allowed near gloss paint since

 

[rebellious 1]

A horrible job to do,dusty, smelly,and unless you really enjoy Destroy It Yourself,leave it to the professionals.
Best way to get out of it
a)Get partner to do 1st one to show you how it's done.(this can yield a good change of idea quickly)

b)Blag reasons it cannot be done(preservation order on door frames as per 2006 Household improvement bill )

c)(If you are really brave) Explain, "Got to get in training for the new season,no time until next November"

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[Gromett]

Chris, it is doable as a DIY job if you are very slow and very methodical and don't rush. There are three ways to strip a door. heat gun, chemical paste such as nitromors and chemical dips.
I would put a value on your time, add some for the disruption, smell and dust in your house. Price up the tools/chemicals needed. I am sure once this is done you will find that it actually works out cheaper to either get someone in or get new doors.

When I did mine in the first house I had. I removed the doors and sold them to a local reclamation yard and bought new doors. I also bought new architrave which I paid a joiner to fit for me. I tried on one door and couldn't get a good enough finish on the mitre.

Before I got the doors and architrave fitted I did strip the inside of the door frame myself. I used a heat gun on the bulk then Nitromors for the few fiddly bits. It then took me hours of sanding to get a nice finish on the wood. The new architrave and door hanging only took an hour of the joiners time and no material costs so was pretty reasonable. Think I paid him £40 in total. He had neat tools and jigs for routing out the hinge rebates, drilling the door handle hole and catch. He made it looks so quick and easy but would have take me hours with a drill and chisel and I am sure i would have messed it up.

One last tip, if you want a gloss varnish finish then make sure you use a PU based varnish not these modern environmentally friendly water based ones as they are crap. They do stink out your house and take a day to dry, but the finish is great.

 

[Chris]

I admit defeat on this one.

I am pathetic at DIY, so I am just giving up.

My Dad and brother are really practical and put me to shame really.

Until I remind them that our surname has two L's in it

 

[DavidG58]

When I was younger I tried most jobs, but we ended up (by we I refer to Bev and my girls) with the term BIY for bodge it yourself as I attempted to do jobs I was never qualified to do

Later I decided that provided I could earn more then the tradesman charged in the same time he took to do the job there was little point in me doing it, as it would take me longer and look far worse

On a couple of occasions I have relented and thought how hard can that be? and regretted the thought, when lights don't work when it goes dark, or the door wont shut when its time to lock up, or the pop up plug wont close or possibly worse wont open

Just get the job done while you are at work, or better still while on holiday, it seems even better that way, you are still being paid, resting and getting the job done

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[lorger]

Chris we could have a DIY rally at your house and get it all done in a weekend., you just supply the beers. I have a big sledge hammer so that will get the doors off

As someone said see about getting them dipped we have a company up here (bit far for you) that come I. Take the doors and surrounds off dip them and treat them then refit they make an excellent job so might be worth looking up a local company.

 

[sedge]

My mum and dad's house had architrave like the first one here at £5.30 a metre.

http://www.thevictorianemporium.com/store/category/architrave

No Way Pedro would my dad touch the architrave, they had friends and the husband was a painter and decorator and he used to come and burn all the gloss off the doors and frames whereas mum and dad were quite happy to do the (original) Torus skirtings with sandpaper.

My dad did all the sanding, painting and paperhanging otherwise - but never never never sanded any door or frame in the whole house himself.

Don't blame him - used to take Uncle Cliff getting on for 2 days to do two doors, frames and one window frame in one room with a heat gun and various scrapers!

 

[rangi]

Just one handy tip if anyone is thinking of doing a bit of gloss varnishing using an oil based varnish
Raw wood; thin the varnish with just a tad of turps this helps the varnish to sink in
THEN
Pre painted/ varnished; sand use an 80 grit & varnish, when dry, sand using a 120 grit & varnish, when dry, sand using a fine wire wool& varnish, brings it up like glass.(best done 3 days after the 2nd coat)
In Aus our front door faced north, so had the sun for a lot of the day, it was a Mahogany door, (we got it from a bank they were demolishing). I used to put a coat or two of clear over it every year, finishing it with wire wool, the result was fantastic, it was like a pool of water over the door, it seemed like you had to immerse your hand in water to reach the door.

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