A while back, we removed all the oak doors from the second floor to have them stripped. Before we sent them off, we removed the hardware.
It's just as important to have a system for organizing that hardware as it is to mark trim that's been removed, so you know where it belongs.
We here at Chicago 2-flat believe in the "ziplock system." It's very simple, which is how you need things to be when you are removing 9 doors and an apartment's worth of trim in a short period of time.
Every door gets a ziplock bag and all the door's hardware goes into that. Even with this system, mistakes happen. Case in point me on Sunday...."Now where did I put those pins?? I remember putting them in a safe place somewhere...?" When I put something in a "safe" place, that is usually when I have the hardest time finding it. (Note to self: Please stop doing that!)
We are resusing most of the original hinges and locksets- they are in good shape. We need some door plates and knobs. Most of the original knobs & plates are gone and were replaced with cheap brass plated ones that look crappy/corrode after 6 months.
At left is the hardware we are going to use for the apartment. The closets will have glass knobs because I have them, they are original I think, and we don't want to spend more money to make everything match.
Personally a bit of an eclectic touch with knobs etc... does not bother me as long as they coordinate and there is some kind of order. I am curious if most houses originally had completely matching sets in every room anyway. Does anyone know?
We are using the ones at left for all doorways inside the apartment. Glass knobs with similar plates for the closets, and brass plates and knobs for the exterior front and back door. I don't think that will be too hodge podge and we can always change it later.
Footnote: It took between 20-30 minutes per door to remove the hardware in case anyone is interested.
4 comments:
Sorry, but all the door hardware in our house is original and identical. But your'e right eclectic looks great on some styles.
I’m willing to bet it was all the same originally. I’m having to compromise as well. I have enough of the original brass Eastlake knobs and plates for the downstairs, but I will be doing brass Eastlake plates and white porcelain knobs upstairs. I think what you’re doing will look fine.
In our small town, i'm willing to bet not only did it all match, but it also matched the neighbors. There simply weren't the same zillion distributors supplying hardware from all over creation back in the day, and i'm guessing the local hardware store only stocked a limited selection from a single supplier. In the big city it might have been different.
Still, it's neat for me to drive through town and see all the identical 2 over 2 windows, visit a neighbor and see the same (elsewhere practially non-existant) pressed tine ceiling pattern, and know if i need it, all the neighbors have identical bricks in their yard piles from the ghosts of chimneys past. :)
P.S. Going for the nice hardware, eh? Sounds like someone's moving upstairs to me. I know the math of renovating a rental, and those doorknobs seem a little nicer than necessary . . . .
Annie- we aren't moving upstairs this year, but we want to make it nice enough that it's an option.
This is going to be a special rental.
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