What I did at my house today...

[Manalto]

I second Phil's suggestion. If the doors can come off without too much hassle, you are so much better off having them conveniently positioned to work on them, plus they'll gobble up so much space you will be additionally motivated to finish them.

What I find gratifying about stripping doors and woodwork is that you start to see the light at the end of the tunnel - you have a better vision of what they will look like when finished than when they're gobbed up with paint. Those are beautiful doors and well worth the effort. Wow!

(I assume the Weldwood paneling in that room is going to stay? )

[Gothichome]

Corcetiere, now it’s down to the sticky spots, cracks and dents. There is a certain sense of satisfaction in removing large swaths of paint. It’s the finicky stuff that seen to take for ever. But as usual, you will show us a master class on how it’s done.

[Corsetière]

I second Phil's suggestion. If the doors can come off without too much hassle, you are so much better off having them conveniently positioned to work on them, plus they'll gobble up so much space you will be additionally motivated to finish them.

Yeah...there’s no way I’m messing with taking them down. It would take 4 fit men to manage these without damaging them. And god help you when you would try to get them reinstalled. Not practical at all. I’m good, I’ve done quite a lot of this kind of work at this point so I have a really good handle on it. Just finished stripping all of them tonight.

[Corsetière]

Corcetiere, now it’s down to the sticky spots, cracks and dents. There is a certain sense of satisfaction in removing large swaths of paint. It’s the finicky stuff that seen to take for ever. But as usual, you will show us a master class on how it’s done.

Thanks! Can’t wait to finish them but I have a couple other door jambs to strip first while I still have this infrared tool here. Lol! *barf*

[Willa]

I second Phil's suggestion. If the doors can come off without too much hassle, you are so much better off having them conveniently positioned to work on them, plus they'll gobble up so much space you will be additionally motivated to finish them.

Yeah...there’s no way I’m messing with taking them down. It would take 4 fit men to manage these without damaging them. And god help you when you would try to get them reinstalled. Not practical at all. I’m good, I’ve done quite a lot of this kind of work at this point so I have a really good handle on it. Just finished stripping all of them tonight.

I was wondering about the logistics about removing then reattaching pocket doors to the hardware.

In theory the removal of a door makes it easier...but in practice this becomes more complex. I personally don't think I could manage to rehang an average sized antique door without an extra pair of hands. XL pocket doors that are in place and operating smoothly - uh-uh - I would let those be.

[Corsetière]

I was wondering about the logistics about removing then reattaching pocket doors to the hardware.

In theory the removal of a door makes it easier...but in practice this becomes more complex. I personally don't think I could manage to rehang an average sized antique door without an extra pair of hands. XL pocket doors that are in place and operating smoothly - uh-uh - I would let those be.

Yeah, agreed. That was my thought process as well. The max size of an oak door I can handle on my own is 7ft by 36" and that was a struggle! My dad and I went through quite a bit of fiddling with the hardware to adjust for settling of the pocket door and everything is moving smoothly now so I definitely don't want to jinx myself by trying to take them down.

[Manalto]

I’ve done quite a lot of this kind of work at this point so I have a really good handle on it. Just finished stripping all of them tonight.

My intention was not to insult your skills or experience, only to be encouraging. I'm sorry if you interpreted my comment otherwise. I've only removed average-sized doors that require hinge pins tapped out. Re-hanging that type of door is not difficult, regardless of one's strength or resourcefulness. I'm 1,000 miles away so it's hard to see the scale of the doors you're dealing with or the complexity of their installation. I saw the results of your stairway restoration, so I know your work is competent. Best of luck with your refinishing project.

[phil]

It looks mostly finished anyway by this point. Yea to what James said. Just trying to make a helpful suggestion.

[Corsetière]

I’ve done quite a lot of this kind of work at this point so I have a really good handle on it. Just finished stripping all of them tonight.

My intention was not to insult your skills or experience, only to be encouraging. I'm sorry if you interpreted my comment otherwise.

Oh I’m not offended. I’ve just gotten that suggestion quite a few times so I kind of have gotten a template response for it at this point. Ha ha! But I sincerely appreciate you for having the self awareness to realize that your response could be construed differently than you intended. It’s often pretty exhausting to participate in restoration groups as a woman because we are frequently treated differently despite expertise. I genuinely appreciate your effort to communicate your intentions.

[Manalto]

Talk about patronizing.

This certainly creates a ridiculous dynamic for this forum.