Door Refinishing · Kirkwood, MO
Door Refinishing in Kirkwood
Kirkwood's Victorian cottages and Craftsman bungalows contain original fir doors that have been painted over for decades. Sue Wheeler strips them by hand — never a dip tank — and returns them to the grain and warmth the house was built with.
What makes Kirkwood door refinishing different
Kirkwood was incorporated in 1865 — one of Missouri's oldest suburbs — and its housing stock reflects that age. Victorian cottages from the 1870s sit alongside Craftsman bungalows from the 1910s and 1930s. The common thread across all of them is old-growth Douglas fir: tight, dense, slow-grown lumber that was the standard building material of its era and is no longer commercially available.
Those original doors — entry doors, interior doors, pocket doors in the Victorian interiors — were built from that same old-growth stock. Over a century of repainting has buried the grain under layers of latex and oil paint, often five or six coats deep. The wood underneath is typically still in exceptional structural condition. It just needs to be uncovered.
Kirkwood is one of Sue's most active neighborhoods, and has been for decades. She has worked in Kirkwood homes across multiple generations of the same families — restoring the same house twice, or refinishing woodwork for a homeowner whose parents were clients years earlier. That kind of continuity comes from results that hold up.
Because Kirkwood's homes are predominantly pre-1978, lead paint is the practical baseline — not the exception. Every door project here involves full EPA RRP protocol. Sue is certified, equipped, and methodical about containment, disposal, and documentation.
Door refinishing services for Kirkwood homes
Craftsman bungalow entry doors
Kirkwood's Craftsman bungalows typically have simple paneled fir entry doors with period hardware. The forms are restrained — flat or slightly raised panels, minimal decoration — but the material is excellent. These doors strip cleanly, take stain evenly, and look remarkable when the grain is revealed. Sue works around original hardware rather than removing it unnecessarily.
Victorian entry and interior doors
Victorian-era homes in Kirkwood have more ornate entries — paneled doors with molded profiles, sometimes with sidelights or transoms. Interior door suites from this period often run throughout the entire house. Sue refinishes single doors or entire sets, stripping each one individually by hand for a consistent result across the home.
Pocket doors
Pocket doors are common in Kirkwood's Victorian interiors — they were the standard way to divide parlors, sitting rooms, and dining rooms. Most have been painted in place many times and often stick in their tracks. Sue strips pocket doors by hand, in place or removed from the pocket depending on access, and addresses the hardware and track function as part of the process.
The board-up method: shop stripping and rehang
Every door refinishing project follows the same process: the door is removed from its hinges, the opening is secured with a temporary board, and the door is transported to the shop for stripping. Shop conditions allow for more thorough work than in-place stripping. Once stripped, refinished, and cured, the door is returned and rehung. The home is never left unsecured overnight.
EPA Certified Lead Removal — required in most Kirkwood homes
If your Kirkwood home was built before 1978 — which describes the majority of homes in the neighborhood — federal law requires that any firm performing refinishing that disturbs painted surfaces be EPA RRP Certified. Sue Wheeler holds that certification and has applied it to hundreds of Kirkwood projects over 36 years.
Full protocol on every pre-1978 door project: HEPA vacuum containment, wet stripping methods to prevent airborne dust, sealed disposal of all stripped material, and written documentation provided at project completion. No shortcuts. No assumptions that a particular layer is lead-free.
"We have a 1912 bungalow on Woodbine and the front door had been painted so many times it barely closed properly. Sue stripped it, refinished it in a warm walnut stain, and rehung it — it's become the first thing guests comment on. We've since had her do all the interior doors on the main floor."
Homeowner, Woodbine Avenue, Kirkwood
Frequently asked questions
Do you refinish doors in Kirkwood?
Yes. Sue Wheeler has been refinishing doors in Kirkwood for over 36 years. The neighborhood's Victorian and Craftsman homes have exceptional original woodwork, and Kirkwood is one of her most active repeat-client neighborhoods — often working with multiple generations of the same family.
My Kirkwood Craftsman bungalow has the original fir door — is it worth restoring?
Almost certainly yes. Old-growth Douglas fir — the species used in Kirkwood's bungalows — is denser, tighter-grained, and more dimensionally stable than any new-growth lumber available today. Under layers of paint, that wood is typically in excellent structural condition. Stripping it reveals grain quality that simply cannot be replicated with new materials.
How do you handle lead paint on Kirkwood doors?
Kirkwood's pre-1978 housing stock makes lead paint the standard assumption, not the exception. Sue is EPA RRP Certified and follows full containment protocol: HEPA filtration, wet methods to suppress dust, proper bagging and disposal of all stripped material, and written documentation. The door is removed and stripped in her shop, then returned and rehung.
Ready to restore your Kirkwood door?
Free estimate. No obligation. Sue answers every call personally — (314) 367-6054.