Door Refinishing — Lafayette Square
Door refinishing in Lafayette Square.
Lafayette Square is St. Louis's oldest surviving residential neighborhood — Italianate and Second Empire homes built in the 1850s through 1880s in old-growth walnut and chestnut. There's nothing like these doors anywhere else in the city. We've been refinishing them for 36 years.
The oldest doors in St. Louis
Lafayette Square is the oldest intact residential neighborhood in St. Louis. Development began in the 1840s and continued through the 1880s, producing a neighborhood of Italianate townhouses, Second Empire mansions, and brick row houses that still stands largely as it was built. Many of the homes here predate the Civil War. Some predate the transcontinental railroad. The doors that came with them are among the oldest original architectural woodwork still in use in the entire region.
The wood used in mid-19th century St. Louis construction reflects what was still abundant at the time: American black walnut, American chestnut, white oak, and some Douglas fir for more utilitarian applications. Walnut and chestnut were used freely as building materials — not as luxury woods, simply as what was available in abundance from the forests of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Today, American chestnut is functionally extinct from the chestnut blight that swept through eastern forests in the early 1900s. The chestnut in Lafayette Square's doors cannot be replaced. It can only be maintained.
That's the responsibility these homes carry, and it's why the work done on them matters. A door in a Lafayette Square Italianate townhouse isn't just a moveable surface — it's a piece of wood that was cut before the Civil War from a tree species that no longer exists. Dipping it in a chemical tank, or attacking it with an orbital sander, or painting it over rather than stripping it, is an irreversible act. We don't do any of those things.
We hand-strip every door. The board-up method means the door comes to our shop, where temperature and humidity are controlled and the surface preparation can be done with the care these pieces of wood require. The result, when we're done, is a door that looks the way it did in 1865 — and will for another generation if it's maintained properly.
What we work on in Lafayette Square
Italianate and Second Empire front doors
The entry doors on Lafayette Square's townhouses and mansions are some of the most architecturally significant woodwork we see anywhere. Tall paneled doors — often eight feet or taller — in old-growth walnut or white oak, with elaborate surround millwork, transom lights, and original hardware. These doors require careful stripping to preserve the profile details in the raised panels and the character of the surrounding millwork. We assess the entry holistically: door slab, frame, casing, and transom together.
Pocket doors
Lafayette Square's larger homes are filled with pocket doors — parlor to dining room, library to study, front hall to rear. These are typically walnut or oak panels with elaborate raised profiles consistent with the Italianate and Second Empire vocabularies. Many are still on their original hardware, which we preserve. The doors are pulled from the wall pocket, hand-stripped, finished in our shop, and returned. Pocket doors are one of the defining features of this neighborhood's interior architecture, and restoring them is among the most satisfying work we do.
Interior door sets
Interior doors in Lafayette Square homes are often walnut or chestnut — paneled in the same Italianate vocabulary as the exterior, with matching casing profiles throughout. When these have been painted over, the quality of the wood underneath is consistently surprising. Chestnut in particular strips beautifully — it has a fine, even grain that holds stain evenly and presents a surface that's unmistakably different from any wood in use today.
Historic district compliance
Lafayette Square is a designated historic district. Sue Wheeler's hand-strip method is compliant with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation — the standard required for federal and state historic preservation tax credits. If you're undertaking a qualifying rehabilitation project, the work needs to meet those standards. Call before you start so we can coordinate with your project timeline and documentation requirements.
Pre-Civil War homes, pre-1978 paint — handled correctly
Lafayette Square homes were built before there was any regulatory awareness of lead's hazards. Every painted surface in these homes should be treated as lead-bearing until tested otherwise — and in practice, most are. The EPA's RRP regulations require that any refinishing work disturbing paint in a pre-1978 home be performed by an EPA Certified Lead Removal.
Sue Wheeler is EPA Certified. Her process includes full containment of the work area, HEPA filtration, wet methods to minimize dust generation, and complete documented cleanup. You receive a record of the work for your property file. This is the only way we work on these homes — not as a compliance checkbox, but because it's what the work actually requires when done correctly.
"Our front door was the first thing guests saw — and it was embarrassing. Sue refinished it in a week. Now it looks like it came from the 1890s because it did, and it shows."
— Homeowner, Lafayette Square
Common questions
Do you refinish doors in Lafayette Square?
Yes. Lafayette Square is one of our most active neighborhoods. The Italianate and Second Empire homes here have doors in old-growth walnut, chestnut, and white oak that are among the finest we work on anywhere in St. Louis. We refinish front doors, interior door sets, pocket doors, and French doors throughout Lafayette Square. Call (314) 367-6054 for a free estimate.
What types of doors are common in Lafayette Square homes?
Lafayette Square is the oldest surviving residential neighborhood in St. Louis, with many homes built in the 1850s through 1880s. Front doors tend to be tall and substantial — old-growth walnut or white oak with elaborate surround millwork. Interior doors are often paneled walnut or chestnut with raised Italianate profiles. Pocket doors are nearly universal in the larger townhouses.
My home was built before 1870. Is it safe to refinish the doors?
Yes, when done by an EPA Certified contractor following proper lead-safe protocols. Sue Wheeler is EPA Certified and has worked on pre-Civil War era homes throughout her 36-year career. Every project on a pre-1978 home includes containment, HEPA filtration, wet methods, and documented cleanup.
Let's talk about your Lafayette Square doors.
Free estimate. No obligation. Sue answers every call personally — (314) 367-6054.