Gonna be needing advice soon

[lottathought]

I have definately had better days.

I spent the day at my grandparents house.
My grandfather died about 35 years ago. My grandmother died about 5 years ago.
About 10 years before my grandmother died, she lived with my parents in their home.
So this house has not had anybody living in it for the past 15 years.


My parents (mother) has never been able to let anything go.
She is as close to a human packrat as anybody who has ever lived.
Well this house is no exception. It is in Mt. Olive and far enough away that they could not properly take care of it even when they were in better health. Now..it is in really bad shape.
Frankly..it really ticks me off that she has let things get this bad. This is my family's history and she has not let anybody do anything with anything.
Now it is all degrading.

Well we got the word that homeless people had broken into the house recently and had destroyed some things. (This was the story that got relayed to the police by the neighbors.)

We got there today and basically found a mess.

The plan today was to take most anything of value out of the house.
We got most of the furniture.
I brought some of the pieces back with me.
Some of these are items that have been in the family long before even my grandparents.
Even the newer stuff are legitimate antiques.

Some damage was caused by the homeless people that broke into the house. Some damage has been caused by age and some damage is the result of not being in climate controled conditions for about 15 years.

I want to restore what I can. I understand that stripping this furniture down and refinishing them will ruin their value. That would be a last resort effort..and frankly, I do not think that some of these things look that bad.

What I am going to be looking for is advice on the best way to bring back the existing finish.

I will need some advice on how to identify some wood and the best way to match/repair a few bad spots.

I will also be looking to see if there is a way to replace a piece of broken glass with new glass that will match the other old glass.

I will want some advice on re-gluing the wood and putting strength back into it.
And it will be helpful to get some tips on how to get things apart without shattering brittle 150+ year old wood (in some cases).

I have never been afraid to try something new...but I do find myself a little more cautious this time as this furniture has sentimental value too.
I think that I can do this...but I would be a fool to not go to such a great resource as I have here.

BTW..pics are coming in the next day or so.
I took a few pieces today. I will probably grab others as I finish with each piece. The really great thing is that I get some great "dibbs" on what I really like.:-D

 

[DaveO]

Mike, that situation is never a good one to be in. I know what you are going through, as my wife's grandparents have been in a similar situation. I would love to help you with wood identification, and repair tips (I don't know a lot about the subject).
Dave

 

[newtonc]

I did antique refurbishing for many years.Not to be confused with "refinishing".I grew up doing American furniture,but moved into French pieces later on.
And I would say you are in a great situation.It may not be the condition it could have been in,but you are gaining family antique furniture that you couldn't buy.
PM with any questions,I'll try to help.
Keep in mind an antique has charm because it is "used and worn".
Many pieces were worth more because of an ink well spilling over and not attempted to sand and bleach the spot out.But a broken leg on a chair is simply a broken chair.
As for the glass.No.You will never match it.Start searching flea markets,what ever,for pieces you can scavenge for that wavy piece of glass you can possibly cut to fit.There are some replicas out there you will pay an arm and a leg for but I always liked using an old piece that would blend in.But that all depends on how much and how big you are looking for.
Old windows from historic houses are a great source for that,if you only need small pieces.If your house in question has any and you are getting rid of the house, I would suggest scavaging some from there and replace with a new pane.
Hope to hear from you with something challenging.

 

[skeeter]

Michael, although you are facing a lot of work you are still lucky. same thing happened to my inlaws old family house and by the time any of knew anything about what was happening, everything had been stolen from the house, right down to the light fixtures and door knobs.

It's great that you have the pieces to restore!

 

[lottathought]

Thanks guys.
I will be definately hitting both Dave and Newton up on some info.

I think that part of what bothered me so much is I spent time in that house as a kid. It bothered me that things looked so run down.

OK...first order of business.
Some of the pieces seem to have a little mildew/mold on them.
One particually has some on the back.

Before I start refurbishing anything (good word NewtonNC), I want to stop this from further damaging any pieces.
What is the best way to clean this out and stop it down in the pores of the wood without damaging the finish?

 

[newtonc]

There aren't any "mold killers" that won't ruin a finish.
Just wipe it off.I haven't seen them but I would bet it's just surface mold,unless there was some extreme moisture condition like leaky roofs.
Is this a hard or wax finish.
If it's a hard finish it probably didn't penetrate wood.So just wipe it off.Maybe use a cream polish if you feel it's needed.Oz is a very good product...BUT NOT INTENDED FOR EVERY FINISH.Over use will make the piece "cloudy" over time.Wax finishes are even better because you can degrease them and lightly steel wool (0000) and then reply wax,which is recommended every so often anyway.But American antiques weren't real big in wax finishes.
As for mold on the back,well then you don't have to worry about finishes.Try any off-the-shelf product.I haven't used any recently so I can't recommend any right now.But one multi-use product is Windex(only on back or drawer backs/bottoms!).It seems to kill most off.
But just try wiping the mold off before you get aggressive with all these fancy products.