Repairing/refinishing a divided light door

[Limp Arbor]

I was doing some work at my MIL's house yesterday and I finally pulled the old divided light doors I had been eyeing up out from behind a mountain of other stuff.

After I got them home and took a better look here is what I have.

Door1

36" wide. Veneered (~3/16") in either oak or chestnut with a little lifting and a few small splits that could be fixed with a little glue and some filler. All the molding is in place but a few pieces are very dry and warped slightly but nothing an extra brad or two couldn't fix. All 15 panes of glass are good. Mortised latch with one knob missing.

Door2

30" wide. Stained dark so I'm not sure but is probably solid fir because it is very straight and the grain looks like pine. Three panes of glass and some molding missing. (I could cut a few panes from door 1 to the size needed for this door) One of the horizontal divders is damaged and would need to be replaced. Mortised latch with one knob missing.

Either door will work for what I have in mind, a door off the foyer that leads to a hallway. The door will be open 96% percent of the time and will be visible as you enter the front door. The foyer has oak floors that are that golden poly color.

I've never made or worked on a divided light door so a few questions.

If I go with door 1 should I remove all the glass before stripping, sanding and finishing? The door may end up just getting poly like the floor. The side with the few splits would be on the hallway side so the repair isn't an issue. What would be an issue is the glass, If I break a pane I'd have to replace them all because I doubt I could find a piece of wavy glass to match.

If I go with door 2 do I need to dissasemble the enitre door to replace the broken piece? (I also took and old piece of flooring that might work for the replacement parts. are router bits available to make the parts for a 1.5" divided light door? (I don't have a 45 or 55 stanley so I would need router bits)

Go with door 3 and just buy a new door that will have gnarly grain and will warp about a week after I hange it?

[Sonny]

I vote you go with the wider door.

Yes, remove the glass. After removing the moldings, use a thin razor knife to cut through any (soft?) caulking. If there is putty, take care to remove it, so as not to break the glass.... shouldn't be too much of a problem, just take your time. If there is putty, there is, also, likely to be some triangle metal cleats holding the glass in place.

No. Make 2 pieces extra long, then connect them, using a lap joint, when assembling onto the door. There won't be enough stress of this repaired piece, warranting worry about the stability of the lap joint. Make sure the 2 pieces are aligned straight, when assembling... if possible or if need be, insert the repair pieces in place, install (dry fit) a pane of glass and use the glass edge for alignment.

Rather than invest in router bits, for a one time use (?), maybe ask a cabinet maker to rout an appropriate profile on the repair pieces.

Sonny

[J. Clarke]

Or see if the local hardwood yard can do it on their shaper.

[Edward Hennessey]

I'd do was has worked well in more than one location on the mutins or custom molding: call a number of window outfits and ask them who can make you a custom door/window with glass panes to match what you have. Someone will know and when the same names reappear they'd be contacted. As such people also do some of the repairs/restoration you're considering, the luck of finding an affable proprietor would aslo give you another base for answers to your questions.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

[whit3rd]

If you're OK with the distressed look, don't bother with a full stripping and sanding. I always expect doors to have character.

If you really want to get down to bare wood, I'd remove the glass and probably would get a glass shop to cut new glass for it; nowadays, it has to be tempered. For a little more money, it can be low-e sandwiched doublepane as well.

[Sonny]

I had forgotten about being tempered. Thanks for the reminder. I have a back door with multi-lights, plate glass. I often worry about it.

Sonny

[Lew Hodgett]

knife to cut through any (soft?) caulking. If there is putty, take care to remove it, so as not to break the glass....

--------------------------------- Or just grab your handy dandy Fein Multimaster.

Solves a lot of problems.

Lew

[Morgans]

I had forgotten about being tempered. Thanks for the reminder. I have a back door with multi-lights, plate glass. I often worry about it.

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Tempered is good, but most code only calls for that when it is closer than 4 or 5 feet off the ground.