silvergoldmagazine.ca
HOUSE + HOME
RESTORING AN HEIRLOOM
– By Paul Curitz
In my line of work, I undertake many different types of home
repair jobs, however one that I especially like doing involves
woodwork and furniture restoration.
Earlier this year I received a call from Joe, a Silver & Gold
reader, asking me if I would be interested in restoring a tea
trolley, which his grandmother had owned and his mother
and father had used every day that he could remember, and
that had been in his basement for the last 15 years.
When I arrived at Joe’s house, I was shown down to the
basement and taken to where a broken tea trolley was resting
against a wall. It was very obvious to me that this was once
a pretty piece of furniture.
Before
Joe told me that he could not remember a time when this
piece of furniture was not in the house in which he lived.
Unfortunately now it was too rickety to use – the drawer
was broken and one of the wheels had fallen off a couple of
times, so now it lived in the basement just taking up space.
Joe wanted the trolley renovated so that it could be used as
a table for drinks, in the corner of the main room of the new
house into which he was moving in a couple of month’s time.
When I took the piece back to my workshop, I carefully
removed the wheels and the broken handle from the body
of the trolley.
When the handle was removed it revealed that the original
colour of the trolley was completely different to the black that
appeared to be in Joe’s basement. I thought the discoloration
had been caused by nicotine soaking into the original finish
of the trolley. After Joe had confirmed that his grandparents
and parents had all been smokers, we agreed to remove the
old varnish and restore the trolley back to its original coloring.
Over the next couple of days, I used an organic varnish
solvent to remove the old varnish, repaired the cracked and
dented table surfaces, repaired the broken handle and the
loose wheels, and rebuilt the drawer base and slides.
Once all the repair work had been completed, I applied
several coats of varnish to all the parts and finally reassembled
the trolley including installing a new period style drawer pull.
After
I only wish I had my camera with me when I returned
the trolley to Joe to capture his expression of delight. He
really appreciated the refurbished trolley’s beauty. Although
restoring furniture is not an inexpensive and speedy process,
Joe was more than pleased that he had made the investment
in a treasured family heirloom.
The trolley now sits proudly in his sitting room, displaying
an interesting assortment of drinks, ready to give another 100
years of pleasure to the family.•
Paul Curitz is a general contractor and owner of
Paul’s Home Repairs 905-407-2550
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“Heirlooms, like people, matter
because they all have a story to tell.”
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