Sorry this subject has probably been done to death in the past.
Just bought a property that desperately needs some TLC. It's a odd house to deal with though - it's a yorkshire stone cottage and the original part of the house was built in 1780, the next section in 1880 and then a kitchen was added about 2 years ago (and a garage 12 years ago but that's not attached to the house). So it's got different periods and the effects of many different owners.
It still has old wood doors, skirting boards and deep window surrounds (and ceiling timbers) but they have been stained the deepest mahogony by the last owner, which is quite oppressive in the house. I know that they were not always quite that dark, previously they have been a slightly lighter / browner coulour varnish. In the dim and distant past they may have been much lighter. The neighbours have painted over much of theirs so I can't tell from their houses.
I want to strip all the wood (......gonna take me years) but not so that it is natural colour wood - that wouldn't look right here - but to then stain it perhaps dark oak, lighter than now but not a light wood colour. So I want to know the best way to do it. All the articles I read tend to talk about the best ways to strip wood to get a perfect finish but I don't want a perfect finish, I want to varnish it again but a mid-dark colour. I also don't know what the original wood is and with the house being a mish mash of era's it could have a right mixture. Some wood looks relatively new but some are obviously very old and some original. I am massively concerned that some of the older wood won't strip as well and may be dark underneath.
Personally I'm not a fan of chemicals - just because I don't like gooey mess and strong smells - so I was thinking of sanding but I'm not sure if that's viable. Would chemcials be better? If so which ones? (But not gonna tank dip anything). Would it be easier to replace some of the pieces (such as skirting boards) with new oak?
Oh and I'm not even thiniking about the beams yet, I'll cross that bridge later, just looking at doors, window surrounds (the frames have been replaced with UPVC sadly) and skirting boards.
Any advice greatly received. Thanks in advance.
Just bought a property that desperately needs some TLC. It's a odd house to deal with though - it's a yorkshire stone cottage and the original part of the house was built in 1780, the next section in 1880 and then a kitchen was added about 2 years ago (and a garage 12 years ago but that's not attached to the house). So it's got different periods and the effects of many different owners.
It still has old wood doors, skirting boards and deep window surrounds (and ceiling timbers) but they have been stained the deepest mahogony by the last owner, which is quite oppressive in the house. I know that they were not always quite that dark, previously they have been a slightly lighter / browner coulour varnish. In the dim and distant past they may have been much lighter. The neighbours have painted over much of theirs so I can't tell from their houses.
I want to strip all the wood (......gonna take me years) but not so that it is natural colour wood - that wouldn't look right here - but to then stain it perhaps dark oak, lighter than now but not a light wood colour. So I want to know the best way to do it. All the articles I read tend to talk about the best ways to strip wood to get a perfect finish but I don't want a perfect finish, I want to varnish it again but a mid-dark colour. I also don't know what the original wood is and with the house being a mish mash of era's it could have a right mixture. Some wood looks relatively new but some are obviously very old and some original. I am massively concerned that some of the older wood won't strip as well and may be dark underneath.
Personally I'm not a fan of chemicals - just because I don't like gooey mess and strong smells - so I was thinking of sanding but I'm not sure if that's viable. Would chemcials be better? If so which ones? (But not gonna tank dip anything). Would it be easier to replace some of the pieces (such as skirting boards) with new oak?
Oh and I'm not even thiniking about the beams yet, I'll cross that bridge later, just looking at doors, window surrounds (the frames have been replaced with UPVC sadly) and skirting boards.
Any advice greatly received. Thanks in advance.