Door frames and skirting paint removal.

[raisinbran]

Renovation has begun on our late victorian house, we have been told to get the doors dipped to remove the paint and get a better finish (they willl be repainted again).

However how do you get a good finish on door frames and large skirting along with the banister rails. can the the dents just be filled in or does it all have to come off and is that likley to be £££££ we have 16 doors! Plus the large front door will have to be dipped too but how long could we be without a front door?

Which trades people do it decorators or joiner?

We also need the doors putting back with the opening the opposite way so it makes the room look bigger ( not the old privacy way ) so which trade does this task fall into?

if you are getting them dipped you take them off yourself and get them dipped and then collect them yourself. You could get a decorator or joiner but they will charge you for it, why not do that bit yourself??
the front door is another matter, as its in situ, you should really do it in situ or you will need to buy another door in the mean time, dipping time approx a 3 days, but if you have glass in it that will have to be removed and re glazed when dry. But they have to dry naturally or will warp.
If you have the cash you could take off all the skirtings etc but really we did our own and used nitromors, lots of it but work a treat, wire brush and lost of elbow grease.
Any holes can be filled with wood filler if going to keep as wood or painted over when dry & sanded.
Are they is such a state that you need to dip them, as you are repainting them?
If you are dipping them, waxed doors are beautiful and you would need a joiner to re hang doors, remember to number them!!

www.meadowcraft.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=82

It would be just as cheap and a lot less hassle just to have your skirtings and door trim replaced with new material. Be very careful if the doors are pine as dipping can distort and twist the timber.

careful with dipping. It can really warp the wood

I took all my old solid wood pine doors to a shoot blaster who blasted them with a very fine grit called "Grade A", they went complete with original hinges, brass handles and locks and came back like new cleaned and very smooth redy to rehang, the cost was 10 pounds per door. Perhaps this would be an option worth looking at.

Thank you so much, lots of really useful advice which I will look into the best option. I have never done any DIY ashamed to say but maybe now is the time to start. Glad you told me to renumber them too.

I think I will have to try and fill the skirting boards, there is so much to take off and they are really high. nitromors for the banister rail too I guess.

do you know any teenagers?
Get them round for £6 an hour plus you put on a barbecue.

Couple of evenings and the skirtings will b stripped and good to go

re skirtings and door frames and mouldings it depends on a) how many times they have beein painted b) what they have been painted with before (gloss or eggshell) and what you want to put back on. if they have been painted countless times before with gloss and you want to put eggshell on then they are likely to chip very badly so you are better of replacing them altogether. i think gloss on gloss isnt as bad but dont have any experience.

I like the shoot blaster idea, you may be bale to do front door in same if pre arranged??
The only concern of taking off all skirting etc is if it cracks the plaster and you have to fix that, 1 step forward, 2 back.

If you decide to get the doors blasted I would advice you take one door along first as a tester to see who well the blasting works out, I was very happy with my results but it is essential that a fine grit is used and the time and effort it saved was well worth the money spent. When I removed my old skirting I replaced it with a slightly taller skirting which covered up all the flaws in the walls and gave a nice clean edge over the existing plaster work, again the time, effort and money that was saved made it the best option for me, check out your local timber suppliers first to make sure they stock a suitable replacement skirting if you decide to go down that road.

If you re-hang the doors the opposite way, you may need to move light switches. And lots of filling/making good where the original hinges and door furniture were.

The skirting boards, doors and doorframes are allready covered in several layers of gloss I just assumed that I would repaint gloss but is this a no no?

The house is currently beng rewired so i did remember to change the light switches.

I have identified a company to call tomorrow for grit blasting any saving on ££ will really help the project. However should i wait until the plastering has been done before the doors and skirting are tackled. There is 15 year old wallpaper to pull off so goodness knows what the walls will be like.

you need to take the wood work off, replaster then replace the woodwork. if you are replastering then its very worth doing at the same time. as conculainey says when you take the woodwork off it may take of some of the plaster and the plasterers can then tidy this up for you. Equally if you are replastering then do electrics at the same time.

If you are turning the doors round you may find yourself having to add bits of wood on to make them fit and if you have done this without blasting/dipping you'll never get a clean line.

the gloss/eggshell thing is your own pref - i think eggshell is more in keeping with period properties though (but again, just my pref)