How To: Furniture Restoration After A Fire Or Catastrophe
Posted by Jim Sutter on Sun, Oct 17, 2010 @ 08:18 AM
Following a fire, water or smoke loss, the furniture restoration process varies from removing soot and grime from one painting to reupholstering, repairing and refinishing an entire office or home. In all cases, it’s important to determine the best method to handle the furniture restoration without further damaging the item.
Your insurance company may suggest you speak with a restoration company. The restoration company are usually general companies who handle dry wall, carpet, new ceiling, the roof that blew off... and they may also suggest that they can handle the contents of the room as well. Most of the time these are generalists. JC Wood is a specialist that focuses on the furnishings, contents and woodwork specifically. So, if your primary consideration is that your furnishings are restored, you may want to consider asking for a specialist to refurbish and restore your furnishings.
After a catastrophic event or fire, furniture may sometimes be salvaged. Dependent upon the extent of the damage, most furniture can be refinished and saved.
When evaluating what to do with the furniture, it helps to have a professional advise what is repairable. Water damage caused by flooding may result in mold or mildew if not treated correctly. It's important to assure that the fabrics are treated appropriately. Not treating the water issue could result in health issues, which is why you should insist on having a professional involved.
In many fire damage cases there is additional damage caused by water and by chemicals used to extinguish the fire. Especially if there is water damage in addition to smoke and heat, and particularly if the wood is pressboard instead of solid wood, it may not be worthwhile to attempt to salvage the furniture.
Upholstered furniture can present it’s own set of concerns. Sometimes cleaning is not going to be enough to restore the furniture and re-upholstery is recommended. Other post fire remedies may include cleaning of cloth and leather furniture using special products and applications. Generally, upholstered cloth items, such as sofas, chairs, cushions, and drapery, are vacuumed and dry- or wet-cleaned depending on the fabric.
Leather must be treated carefully. Both leather and vinyl furniture are usually cleaned and conditioned, with the intent to restore the furniture to a pre-loss condition.
Most wood furniture can be sanded and refinished, resulting in the refinished wooden furniture looking almost as good as new. Even if a piece of furniture is broken or damaged a portion of it could be replaced. Manufacturing missing pieces or carving wood to replace broken tops or legs and sides can be done to refurbish wooden furniture or cabinetry.
Matching a finish requires experience and skill. Items that sustain cracks, scratches and dents will be touched up and covered with care and detail.
To restore furniture requires a bit of a sense of art because the repair must be consistent with the rest of the furniture. An expert eye can color match stains and lacquers and will know how to apply a variety of finishes to mimic the original piece. Especially with the gamut of options, including various finishes ranging from flat and semi-gloss to high gloss, as well as options such as pigmented lacquer and mirrored high-gloss finishes, it’s important to know exactly which product will work best in which situations.