Historic preservation wood refinishing in St. Louis.
Hand-stripped, never dipped. The method the National Park Service recommends — and the standard Sue Wheeler has held for 36 years.
Free Preservation Consult — (314) 367-6054The woodwork in historic St. Louis homes is irreplaceable.
Homes in the Central West End, Lafayette Square, Benton Park, Compton Heights, and Shaw were built from old-growth lumber — denser, tighter-grained wood than anything available today. The doors, staircases, built-ins, and millwork in these homes have density and character that modern materials cannot replicate.
Refinishing preserves the original material. Replacement loses it permanently. That distinction matters for the character of the home, for its historic integrity, and for any preservation review.
Sue Wheeler has been refinishing historic woodwork in St. Louis for 36 years. She knows what these houses were built with, how that wood ages, and what it takes to restore it properly.
Hand-stripping is what the NPS recommends. Dipping compromises the wood and the standards.
The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation — the guidelines for certified historic rehabilitations — explicitly call for the gentlest effective stripping method: hand-scraping, hand-sanding, with chemical strippers as a supplement. They do not endorse immersion stripping. Dipping compromises the wood grain, softens profiles, and dissolves glue joints in original millwork.
Sue Wheeler has never dipped. For 36 years, every door, cabinet, piece of millwork, and staircase component has been stripped by hand. That method is better for the wood — and it’s what preservation standards recommend.
Where to go next.
Staircase Refinishing
Treads, spindles, newel posts, railings — the most visually significant woodwork in a historic home, done properly.
Learn moreDoors & Frames
Original doors are irreplaceable. We remove, strip, refinish in our shop, and reinstall. Hardware intact.
Learn moreArchitectural Woodwork
Built-in hutches, wainscoting, crown molding, mantels, pocket door frames — the millwork that defines the room.
Learn moreEPA Certified Lead Removal — required for preservation-compliant work on pre-1978 wood.
All of St. Louis’s certified historic districts contain homes built before 1978. All of them have lead paint on their original woodwork. A certified rehabilitation that doesn’t handle lead paint correctly isn’t compliant — and creates health, legal, and documentation exposure.
Sue Wheeler is an EPA Certified Lead Removal. Every pre-1978 project on historic woodwork includes proper containment, HEPA filtration, wet-sanding methods, and documented cleanup. The completion record goes in your property file — and supports your rehabilitation documentation.
Common questions.
Your historic woodwork may qualify for significant tax savings. Let's figure out together.
Free preservation consult. Sue answers every call personally.