Door Identification
November 20, 2018 2:37 PM Subscribe
What can you tell me about this door?
Previous owners of our house left behind some items, including these doors. There are seven of them in total, plus three frames for French doors - so I assume they were originally three pair of French doors and frames, plus one single. Each individual door is 32" x 80".
I'm cleaning out the garage and want to sell them. Don't expect they're worth much, but want to do my homework so I'm not getting pennies for something worth dollars. Anything you can tell me that would help me figure out what I've got, and what it's worth, is appreciated.
Previous owners of our house left behind some items, including these doors. There are seven of them in total, plus three frames for French doors - so I assume they were originally three pair of French doors and frames, plus one single. Each individual door is 32" x 80".
I'm cleaning out the garage and want to sell them. Don't expect they're worth much, but want to do my homework so I'm not getting pennies for something worth dollars. Anything you can tell me that would help me figure out what I've got, and what it's worth, is appreciated.
In some circles, they may call them schoolhouse doors, but i think french doors would probably receive more name recognition. I have three such doors, in oak in my 1924 craftsman home. What year was your house built? That may help provide additional information.
posted by wocka wocka wocka at 2:51 PM on November 20, 2018
posted by wocka wocka wocka at 2:51 PM on November 20, 2018
I'd agree with wocka x 3, that looks to be a french door. (The sides/top look to be different orientations of wood, rather than veneer/different woods, for my money.)
If your goal isn't to maximize your return here, you might want to look into if your area has a rebuild center where you could donate these for a tax writeoff or something along those lines where you can just drop it off and get a receipt instead of having to sell it yourself.
posted by lhputtgrass at 3:02 PM on November 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
If your goal isn't to maximize your return here, you might want to look into if your area has a rebuild center where you could donate these for a tax writeoff or something along those lines where you can just drop it off and get a receipt instead of having to sell it yourself.
posted by lhputtgrass at 3:02 PM on November 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
I disagree that they are veneered in any way. It looks like pine or some other light wood with a varnish that has yellowed with age. I'd call them 15-pane French doors. And, honestly if I had a place to put them, I'd give you $30 a piece if all the lock bits worked.
posted by teleri025 at 3:05 PM on November 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by teleri025 at 3:05 PM on November 20, 2018 [5 favorites]
That's essentially this door from Home Depot as near as I can tell, in case that helps. Big question is whether they're old or not.
posted by jessamyn at 3:08 PM on November 20, 2018
posted by jessamyn at 3:08 PM on November 20, 2018
Best answer: I'm pretty sure those are solid pine, not veneer. They have modern locksets on them, so they're not that old—I'd tend to guess 80s or 90s. Depending on the brand and overall quality, a set of 15-light clear pine French doors like those would run between about $300 and $1,000 brand new. They're pretty decent doors if they're in good shape, but nothing particularly unusual.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:09 PM on November 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:09 PM on November 20, 2018 [7 favorites]
Best answer: The inconsistency in the grain would tend to suggest closer to the lower end of that price range, by the way. Nicer doors would probably have nicer grain.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:12 PM on November 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:12 PM on November 20, 2018 [2 favorites]
I don't understand the veneer comment at all. How do you veneer all those mullions? What's veneered exactly? I'd certainly try to get more that 10 bucks for each of those.
posted by humboldt32 at 3:14 PM on November 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by humboldt32 at 3:14 PM on November 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Those are nice doors. Put those on Kijiji for $50 a piece and there will be skid marks in your street.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:52 PM on November 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:52 PM on November 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The wide grain points to them being newer as well, by the way. Old doors would tend to have tighter spacing. The wood in your doors looks like it came from a tree farm, not a natural forest. Also they just look like modern, mass-produced doors in a way that I have a hard time putting my finger on—something in their proportions that I can't quite define. They look like a door you'd find at a building supply place today, except that the handleset, while basically modern (not mortised, larger latch) is a bit dated in some of its details—it has a flatter euscutcheon and more detailed handle scrolling than is fashionable today. I think though that if they were much older than 1980s, the wood would have darkened more than it has, despite being varnished. Finger-jointed casings, seen behind the featured door in your image, are a newer (and cheaper) alternative to casings made from continuous pieces of wood, too.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:55 PM on November 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:55 PM on November 20, 2018 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the comments so far. A few things:
They're not veneered.
House was built in 1900, but was renovated once in the mid-1990s, and I suspect these were installed then.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:16 PM on November 20, 2018
They're not veneered.
House was built in 1900, but was renovated once in the mid-1990s, and I suspect these were installed then.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:16 PM on November 20, 2018
Best answer: Bam. Mid-90s builder's special 15-lite clear pine French doors. Nothing special, but I wouldn't mind having them in my house. Dunno how much they're worth though. $100/set would be a fair price if you ask me, but The Market is a capricious mistress.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:29 PM on November 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:29 PM on November 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Sorry for this being approximately my millionth comment in this thread, but if you list them for sale do make sure you give the dimensions! So many people forget to do that, which makes it impossible for a buyer to know if they'll fit in the space they have in mind. The full description for these doors is "15-lite clear pine 5468 pre-hung French doors, 4 9/16" jambs, bright brass hardware."
The 5468 refers to the fact that they are 5'4" wide (when hung as a pair) and 6'8" tall. I know the jambs are 4 9/16" because that's just how big the jambs for standard interior doors intended for nominal 2x4 walls with 1/2" drywall are. (If your walls are framed with true dimensional 2"x4" lumber, the jambs may be sized differently. Doesn't look like it, but you could always throw a tape on them to be sure.) That callout says everything anyone would need to know to tell whether these doors would be suitable for their intended application, and internet shoppers will love you forever if you include all of it.
If I were listing them on Kijiji or Craigslist or whatever general-purpose venue, I'd also give the dimensions as 64" wide by 80" tall, since most folks aren't familiar with the rather stupid system for architectural door & window callouts.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:10 PM on November 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
The 5468 refers to the fact that they are 5'4" wide (when hung as a pair) and 6'8" tall. I know the jambs are 4 9/16" because that's just how big the jambs for standard interior doors intended for nominal 2x4 walls with 1/2" drywall are. (If your walls are framed with true dimensional 2"x4" lumber, the jambs may be sized differently. Doesn't look like it, but you could always throw a tape on them to be sure.) That callout says everything anyone would need to know to tell whether these doors would be suitable for their intended application, and internet shoppers will love you forever if you include all of it.
If I were listing them on Kijiji or Craigslist or whatever general-purpose venue, I'd also give the dimensions as 64" wide by 80" tall, since most folks aren't familiar with the rather stupid system for architectural door & window callouts.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:10 PM on November 20, 2018 [9 favorites]
It looks like you have the frames as well, which adds value.
posted by theora55 at 8:05 PM on November 20, 2018
posted by theora55 at 8:05 PM on November 20, 2018
Former craigslist door shopper here: Anticipation has it right, but please type out the dimensions for the noobs. I know a fair bit about old house parts, but I wouldn't have known what 5468 meant in the listing.
posted by sarajane at 10:16 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by sarajane at 10:16 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by parmanparman at 2:45 PM on November 20, 2018