Swinging slowly into projects
2020 is a year we will not soon forget. For me it has been rough but I've been feeling rather OK about it. I have been trying to use it as an opportunity and blessing rather than feeling down about what I don't have right now. I havent been so productive on the house this year which does make me sad, but you know we can only do so much. The other day I got a sudden burst of energy and though why not see if I can put in an original door that's been in storage for decades.
My dining room is a room yet to be done, but I decides to do one small project here and that is to put the swining door between the kitchen and dining room back in. The door had been in the attic for at least 50+ years. It even included the original screws still in the hinges when it was removed. I am so thankful for whoever decided to save this door, but it is HEAVY and whoever took the effort to lug it up to the attic probably figured nobody would ever want to haul it back down.
The frame was luckily still there for the door. It has been shortened and covered over in drywall. An easy removal to get it back open to its size. Unfortunately in the kitchen part of the house many layers of new subfloor and linoleum floors. I knew that this would have to be removed for the door to fit amd swing properly. I decides to just remove a small section so that the door could open properly and that I break of the task. A FULL day later I had ripped up several layers of linoleum, subfloors, removing old tar paper and got back down to the original wood. Here you can see what was done :
After that was all done it was "simply" a matter of hauling down that old door and matching the old screws up to where it had been hung
It not only fits PERFECTLY but also swings perfectly and the hinges are smooth and quiet. What a treat! Obviously this door needs to have all the old varnish removed, the panel that you see thats a different color had been broken, so I had that glued up and removed the old shellac on that part. The rest of the door will look like that eventually, but for now I am just so tickled to have this old piece back. Another small step where the house breathes a happy sigh of relief.
Stay safe amd healthy my friends. See you soon!
What's the bare stripe on the jamb? I would have guessed stop molding, but usually these butler's doors dont have any so they csn swing both directions.
ReplyDeleteAll the other butler's doors I've seen have had a big spring-loaded centering hinge in the bottom of the door, and a simple peg pivot at the top. Our houses jave been newer than yours, though (1912 and 1926).
Yes this swinging door is interesting. It appears there was a stop on the side of the hinges because there is a fairly large gap between the door and frame. I had an extra piece of trim I stuck in there the other day amd it fits perfectly. Never seen a swinging door with a trim piece like this in it, but it makes sense for how the hinges hang. These hinges are very tight and were hard to screw back into the frame. I actually had to use a pair of pliers to open the hinges up to screw them in. Took some muscle but they still swing amd work perfectly.
DeleteCongratulations on another job professionally accomplished. You are lucky to have found so many original parts of your house hidden away. Often it is the details like swinging doors rather than the big Victorian curlicues that give you the feeling of being transported in time.
ReplyDelete--Jim
Oh Jim your encouragement is so welcome and appreciated. I fear I am slowly getting close to the end of finding these original bits and pieces tucked away, but you're right it does feel more period with this door in. It's funny because I obviously not used to having a door here....now with it in I wonder how I lived without it.
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