Antique Cypress Door Historic Restoration

This exceptional 1920s Louisiana cypress door stood as the original entrance to a historic Covington home and featured authentic old-growth cypress construction with traditional mortise and tenon joinery, hand-forged hardware, and the characteristic tight grain patterns that made Louisiana cypress prized for construction during the early 20th century.

Over ninety years, the door had been painted numerous times with lead-based and latex paints that completely obscured the beautiful cypress wood underneath.

The current homeowners, committed to historic preservation and restoration authenticity, wanted to restore the door to its original 1920s appearance using period-appropriate materials and techniques.

Our antique cypress restoration required specialized expertise in both historic preservation methods and lead-safe work practices to safely remove decades of paint buildup while preserving the door's authentic character.

The project began with comprehensive documentation of the door's original construction details and hardware for historic accuracy throughout the restoration process. Lead-safe paint removal techniques were essential due to the age of the structure, requiring specialized equipment and environmental controls to protect both workers and the property.

The stripping process revealed extraordinary old-growth cypress with the dense, tight grain patterns that are no longer available in modern lumber. Historic research guided our selection of period-appropriate finishing materials and techniques that would have been used in the 1920s while incorporating modern protection standards.

The restoration includes traditional shellac-based finishing systems authentic to the period, combined with modern UV protection technology that maintains historic appearance while providing contemporary durability.