Wood Restoration in Portsmouth
Sashes, doors, porches and millwork repaired rather than replaced — in houses that were here long before any of us.
What We Repair
Six things, and a strong preference for saving what is already there.
If you have been told something has to be replaced, it is worth a second opinion before it goes in a skip.
Why The Old Ones Are Worth Keeping
A sash made in 1890 is old-growth timber — tight-ringed, dense, and more rot-resistant than anything milled today. It was also built to be taken apart: every component in it can be replaced individually, which is precisely what a modern sealed unit cannot offer when it fails in year fifteen.
Repair typically costs well under half of replacement, keeps glass that has been in the opening for a century, and in a historic district usually avoids a review process entirely. Add weatherstripping and a storm and the performance gap most salespeople quote largely closes.
- Old-growthtimber outlasts new stock, which is why the sash is still there
- Sashescome apart: any component can be replaced, which a sealed unit cannot offer
- Repairtypically costs well under half of replacement
- Weatherstrippingand a storm close most of the performance gap
Four Steps To A Repair You Cannot Find
This is the method behind every item on the list above, from a threshold to a column base.
Find the sound wood
Rot stops somewhere. We probe until we reach timber that is still solid, because a repair let into soft wood fails in the same place within two years.
Cut a clean pocket
The damage is cut out to a square-edged pocket rather than chased along the grain. It takes longer and it is the difference between a repair and a patch.
Let in matching timber
A Dutchman of the same species, with the grain running the same way, glued and pinned. The same wood moves the same way through a Seacoast winter.
Shape, prime and blend
Worked back to the original profile, primed on all faces including the end grain, and blended into the surrounding paint. Once it is painted, nobody finds it.
Saved On The Seacoast
Three recent repairs. We photograph the damage as well as the result, and both go to you.
Four Things In Every Quote
Lead-safe working
Every Seacoast house we touch predates 1978. We are an EPA certified firm — containment, work practice and cleanup are in the price, not an option.
Photographs of the damage
Before we close anything up. You get the pictures, which matters when you sell the house or argue with an insurer.
An honest replace recommendation
Sometimes a component is genuinely gone. We will say so, price the replacement, and make it to match rather than pretend a repair will hold.
A first-winter check
We come back after the first season on sash work and adjust anything that has settled. No charge, and we book it when we finish.
Been Told It Has To Be Replaced?
Send a photograph of the whole element and one of the damage. We will tell you honestly whether it can be saved and roughly what that costs.
Before You Get In Touch
Is repairing sashes really cheaper than replacing?
In our experience, typically well under half — and that is before you count the fact that repair usually avoids a historic-district review. It also keeps glass that has been in the opening for a century, which cannot be bought back once it is gone.
What about draughts and heat loss?
A repaired sash with proper weatherstripping and a storm window performs far closer to a replacement unit than most salespeople suggest. It is also repairable in year twenty, which a failed sealed unit is not.
Can you match glass?
We keep salvaged period glass and use it where a pane is genuinely broken. It will not be identical — old glass never is, which is the point — but it will sit far better in the opening than a modern flat sheet.
What is a Dutchman repair?
Cutting the rot out to a clean square pocket and letting in a new piece of the same species, grain running the same way, then working it back to the original profile. On painted work it is invisible once finished, and it is why a column base costs a fraction of a new column.
How do you decide repair versus replace?
We probe for sound wood. If enough of the original remains to hold a repair and carry the load, we repair. If it does not, we say so plainly and make the replacement to match. We would rather lose the sale than sell you a repair that fails.
What does lead-safe certified mean for me?
Every Seacoast house we work on predates 1978, so it is assumed to have lead paint. Being an EPA certified firm governs how we contain, work and clean. It is in the price rather than added later, and it is not something a contractor can offer to skip.
How far out are you booked?
Usually six to twelve weeks, and sash work is seasonal — we prefer to have windows out in the warmer months. The real date goes on the quote and we tell you before it if anything threatens it.
Get A Free Quote
Tell us what has failed and roughly how old the house is. Photographs of the damage get you a far more useful answer than measurements.