A stained front door makes a beautiful statement. It represents you and your style and is the first thing most people see when they visit your home. However it also is a big investment that needs maintenance. Doors should be hand cleaned with non abrasive cleaners twice a year to get rid of dirt and any mildew. Depending on how much direct sunlight, water and heat your door receives dictates how often it should be refinished. At H.J. Holtz & Son we can restore your stained woodwork to its former glory.
How often your door needs to be refinished depends on the exposure it receives. Doors under porches or doors that face north in our area tend to get less weather and exposure, so they can go years without refinishing. Doors that are more exposed to the elements or that face south may need to be coated annually. The following is a list of signs to look for when determining if you door needs to be refinished.
- Dull surface
- Dry feeling to the door
- Raised grain of the wood
- Noticeable color changes such as light spots or dark streaks
- Obvious peeling of the varnish
Once you determine that your door needs to be refinished, the first step is to remove all of the hardware and access the wear and tear of the door. Does the whole door need to be striped or just a section? Either way the worn area needs to be stripped and sanded.
This door below shows how the door has weathered over time.
Once the door has been sanded to raw wood, our craftsmen experiment and mix stains to create test samples, ensuring the stain is the color the customer wants. Having an artistic eye is key to the color matching. Once a stain is chosen it is applied throughout the door’s nooks, crannies and crevices.
The final step is applying the varnish – a minimum of two coats. We like the oil based Silkkens, which comes in many different sheens. When the time is taken to be detailed oriented and precise, a beautiful refinished door is produced.
These garage doors have lots of fading in the panels and mouldings due to excessive exposure to the sun and rain.
Once the doors are sanded, stained and clear coated, they look as good as new!
When you have professionals that take their time and use their experience to refinish stained woodwork, the outcome is amazing. Call H.J. Holtz and Son at (804) 358-4109 for a free estimate so we can make your doors look brand new!