Wooden doors in Victorian house (1878) What kind of wood is it?

[hambo]

Hello, I have just bought a new house, and got the keys yesterday. The doors are all wooden, not painted, and are a sort of dark colour, not an oak coluor. They are very heavy. The skirting upstairs is the same wood. I wondered if anyone here has the same type of wood doors/skirting and what type of wood it is? (I'm sorry I do not have a picture)

I live in a really old house with lots of dark wood. Most of it is oak but has been stained to almost black over the years...we had some of it sandblasted and it's back to original lighter oak colour now.

Sorry meant to say maybe that's what happened to yours?

Ah, that makes sense.....Most of the doors are unpainted but a couple up the stairs are painted on one side - I was worried that if I dipped the doors the colour would change and not match the skirting...

Dipping the doors could make them fall apart - it can affect the glue and the joints. They might well be oak or another hardwood depending on how grand a house it is, but are probably pine.

Be careful how you dip the doors as some will be made with animal glue which can loosen the joints.

A good restorer will know this and use the best methods for your doors.

We had 2 that moved slightly but managed to save them.

Oh that is interesting about dipping - totally avoid that then! They didn't look like any wood I had seen before but I reckon they have just changed colour with time - they are nice though, and each door still has it's own working key! (which I will have to hide or I will be locked in for hours while the kids play x box!!)

Post some photos please.

Original doors would be pine. Your might possibly still have a grained finish which is intended to resemble a more expensive wood, or they might have been stained. Originally the doors would not have been bare.