Charm on the back of a truck
It’s a common sight in South Philly. But usually it’s being taken out to landfill, not in. The good news is, the woodwork is great quality, the price was good, and it’s in 16 foot lengths. All the baseboards in the house should have just one seam. Except in the closets where I’ll throw together whatever is left over. The bad news is I don’t have a living room anymore.
But you remember what a good match I said the upstairs trim was? Look now! The real life version of that photo I took of the catalog and have been overusing for the past year and a half. Like I said, the new stuff is a little too fancy. But I can live with that.
And I did decide that for a nominal amount I will go with the fancier header for my downstairs casings. The one that really looks like what came with the house.
And in other news, it’s official. I’ve gone full on hoarder with doors. You might remember that I’ve had all the doors I need for my house since April or May 2013. But when people offered me free doors, I took them! I got 3 out of a friend’s basement and 4 out of a friend’s friend’s place. I’m hoping to pass them along to another friend soon.
But then… I had the bad fortune of walking through the neighborhood on trash night and saw a set of Victorian double entry doors out on the curb. They had some nasty holes cut in them for deadbolts and what not and the crazy parallelogram shaped glass panels are gone and replace with plywood. But… nothing that can’t be fixed, right? Mind you, I have no use at all for these, and while I might have a friend who can take them, they are likely too big. But no matter, they’re in my kitchen.
And to think that I just spent two evenings decluttering. At least there was a place to put the woodwork. The good news is a lot of my clutter that’s still around, framing lumber and stuff like that, is going to go back to the Home Depot! For cash! And the things I’m hoarding for friends and family will go to their rightful owners or get donated to Philadelphia Salvage, but the way the money’s been going, the 30 bucks or whatever I’m getting back is what I really care about.
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So glad you decided to go with the matched headers downstairs, didn’t want to pipe in last week in case in was a monetarily based decision – I know how crummy it feels to have to make choices based on how much is in the bank. As an aside, if you’re not using those doors and your friend doesn’t take them I may be interested. What are the measurements? Too big is NOT a problem around here…
They’re 24×87. And the headers would have all matched each other no matter what I had done. There was so little woodwork that was both in good condition and still fit the way I changed things around that I chucked it all.
Also, keep in mind that with the help of the Irishman next door to me, you might be able to get a matching transom and/or sidelights. I read about the gargantuan proportions of your pocket doors. Also, you’re going to need to come for them within 6 weeks or so, or I’m going to have to store them outside.
I think its just great that items that a Craftsman from another age labored over with Pride may have a chance to live again in another wonderful home providing shelter and security to another Family no matter what constitutes that Family. Lots of kids? Ageing couple(like moi) or a just a single loving their refurbished nest. You are doing something great passing on the past to a new future. Bravo!
I am floored by all that lovely woodwork and the salvaged doors. Nice dealing, Chad! It’s going to look lovely! My husband just finished the red oak floor in the master bedroom. You should see his cool patching job in the closet with leftover wood from the last project (the hall). But I was going to say that he didn’t even bother putting baseboard in the closet. He also took down carefully the cove molding on the ceiling, because we are putting in a wall of built-in drawers and shelves, which will be trimmed in the molding to match the rest of the room. And that was very pricey when we had to buy it to trim out the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in the living room–you had to either buy a whole bundle–much more than we needed–or pay a price to break the bundle. Sometimes the simplest looking woodwork is not standard, and so it’s a specialty item.
I’ve been following along with you for quite a while now in anticipation of my own crooked-Philly-house renovation. We just closed on the house 2 weeks ago, and in my very first trip out to buy anything for the place (a new/old front door to replace the padlocked/busted door we had), I bought a totally unnecessary interior door I totally didn’t need. But it’s awesome, and I will definitely find a place for it. Reading your blog is like looking into my future… which I now see includes a basement full of old doors. Can’t wait!
Well thanks for commenting! I got big rushes from my two door shopping trips. They’re like crack. I was really sad to realize that I was done after just two door shopping trips. I’m only half joking. If you’re going on the hunt for old doors, let me know and I can maybe meet up. Also, I might have extra odd bits of hardware.
Thanks, that would be awesome! We are in the tear-down phase right now, though, and probably won’t be ready to put stuff back in till you’re working on your next house, haha. At least it sure feels that way!
Yeah. I actually bought all my doors toward the beginning and stored them through the tear down phase because I didn’t know if I’d find doors that were the right size again and I needed to build the closet openings to fit the doors I bought.
I also cannot resist cheap / free doors. I bought a solid wood door for my back entry that weighs twice as much as me, cause it was 5 bucks, when I had been fully intending on steel core….But I like it 🙂 We have some awesome salvage yards down here in Baltimore.
Now if your friend falls through and you need someone to come take those doors off of your hands… 😉
sounds like a plan! Yeah, at least one of the interested people wants to stain them, which means repairing the old holes would be a huge job. Paint grade really wouldn’t be a big deal. And although steel doors are practical, noting really looks as good as wood. I’m sure you and your 5 dollar door will be very happy together.
Actually, in all seriousness, I am about to start remodeling the kitchen and this doorway and section of wall are getting demoed so there is better flow from the kitchen to living area.
I was going to leave it as a hallway, but with how much work I have left to do on the house I have been thinking about options to close the dogs into or out of the kitchen….and if someone else doesn’t claim those doors they would work very well!
Hope the images attach…
Chad, Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore isn’t far from Philadelphia Salvage. The ReStore is at 2930 Jasper St. donations are tax deductible and a lot of their stuff isn’t salvage or used but brand new.