Salvageable old door?

[Chris Barrett]

http://imgur.com/a/ybRFo#0

I have this door in the basement that I think was an interior door used as an exterior back door. Is this door worth saving? As you can see the veneer on the inner side is cupping and separating. The outer side has a lot of the veneer missing and was painted over. The panels are broken/cracked except for 2. Surprisingly, the core of the door is made up of a ton of small pieces. I didn't expect that given the age of the door ( our house is 110 years old).
If the door isn't worth saving, is anything salvageable off the door besides the hardware?
Thanks!
Chris

[Lee Schierer]

You could probably salvage it, but what you would have would be an old door that is missing the veneer. Replacing the broken panel can be accomplished by popping of the trim on the one side.

If this is an entrance to the house, I would consider a door that is going to be a bit more robust, weather tight and better looking.

[Chris Barrett]

Yeah what I was wondering, is it possible to restore and replace the missing veneer? Would it even be worth it? I'm thinking of pulling off the trim around each panel and keeping that. This door matches all of the interior doors on the first floor of our house. I could probably use the one good panel to replace one that is cracked in one of our back doors.

[Jerry Miner]

Is it possible? Yes, of course.

Is it worth it? Eye of the beholder, I guess, but would not be worth it to me. I would put my efforts into building a new door before I spent a lot of time trying to salvage that one. I'm betting that the door is not original to the house, given it's construction. Probably a later replacement.

[Chris Barrett]

That's what I would think as well, but on the surface it looks to be of the same type. 5 flat panels, oak, similar trim. *shrug*

[Mel Fulks]

I've seen some brown stone houses that had stave core parts. So it could be old. I would salvage any part that you think could help repair a different door and junk the rest.

[Judson Green]

How bout fixing it up but not restoring it? You say your base level interior doors all match this style, perhaps you could replace all the panels with glass (frosted or otherwise) and either replace the missing veneer or remove it to make a smooth base for paint.

Might make a nice door into a kitchen.

Or replace the panels with chalkboard and paint the styles and rails.

Just some thought....

[Chris Barrett]

Yeah I was thinking that too until I saw that under the veneer is "stave core" so it's not a great surface to paint on.

[lowell holmes]

Where are you located? I ask, because in the Texas Gulf Coast area, there are wind storm regulations on a proper exterior door. In past times, you could get an 1 3/4" hollow core door that had water proof glue and put it in an exterior opening. They are not available now.

Is your door a raised panel door or a slab door.

You could make a 3068 frame from 1X4. They could be joined with pocket screws or mortise and tenon joints. Fasten exterior grade plywood to the frame with glue and fasteners.

I've made both a front door and a back door for my house. I would be happy to make a cad sketch of an exteior door if you want it.

[Jim Dwight]

To use as an interior door, yes I think this can be salvaged. I wouldn't use it as an exterior door, however. If you fix what is wrong now, why would you not expect other glue joints to fail? Exterior doors have a pretty tough life. I have three wood ones on our house and they will probably all get replaced with steel or fiberglass. The humidity differences and weathering are just awfully hard on a wood. I've made it work before by staying on top of the degradation in the finish from the weather. But once you let the finish fail, it is hard to recover in way good enough for a clear finish.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Personally, I would only take the time to repair it if it has sentimental value to you... meaning, you like the idea of having an old (maybe original) door in your house that you painstakingly restored... that will make you happy when you look at it, thinking about the project, etc.

Otherwise, man, that's just a whole lot of work!

[Peter Quinn]

http://imgur.com/a/ybRFo#0

I have this door in the basement that I think was an interior door used as an exterior back door. Is this door worth saving? As you can see the veneer on the inner side is cupping and separating. The outer side has a lot of the veneer missing and was painted over. The panels are broken/cracked except for 2. Surprisingly, the core of the door is made up of a ton of small pieces. I didn't expect that given the age of the door ( our house is 110 years old).
If the door isn't worth saving, is anything salvageable off the door besides the hardware?
Thanks!particular
Chris

Stave core is a pretty old method, I've worked on 100+ yr old stave core doors that were in great shape (interior) and a pleasure to behold. It was considered and still is a premium upgrade for stability purposes. That particular door is hit, compromised, refuse, beyond hope, junk, fubar, dumpster fodder, rubbish.....see where I'm going with this? Its been taken to a bad place, the core is delaminated, veneer shot, even if you pay your self $.25/hour its a loss. There is nothing wrong with that door that lighter fluid and matches cannot remedy.....I'm not much into the current up cycle concept of painting trash and calling it treasure, if thats your thing that door could be a candidate, but as a proper door I see no future for it. And as an exterior door its time has long expired. Keep the canolis...and the hardware...lose the door!

[Jerry Miner]

There is nothing wrong with that door that lighter fluid and matches cannot remedy.....

LOL--- Peter, you are so subtle!

[Chris Barrett]

haha thanks for that!

[Mike Cutler]

Stave core is a pretty old method, I've worked on 100+ yr old stave core doors that were in great shape (interior) and a pleasure to behold. It was considered and still is a premium upgrade for stability purposes. That particular door is hit, compromised, refuse, beyond hope, junk, fubar, dumpster fodder, rubbish.....see where I'm going with this? Its been taken to a bad place, the core is delaminated, veneer shot, even if you pay your self $.25/hour its a loss. There is nothing wrong with that door that lighter fluid and matches cannot remedy.....I'm not much into the current up cycle concept of painting trash and calling it treasure, if thats your thing that door could be a candidate, but as a proper door I see no future for it. And as an exterior door its time has long expired. Keep the canolis...and the hardware...lose the door!

Geez' Peter, could you be any more vaque and wishy washy?

Chris
That particular door is toast. Better to just make,or buy a new one. Keep the hardware to match. The door thickness may not be "standard" any longer, so you may have to just make one.
I know a lot of folks think that old doors have some type of "antique" value, or were better made, but neither is necessarily true. They cranked out doors by the zillions in NY city factories, and that's what they are, Factory made doors. I've had friends that bought old New England houses and asked me if I could fix the doors. I always say no. It's a lot of tedious work. Usually the trim and jamb is worth more than the door.