What materials do you use?

- Anything the customer prefers.  Our niche is millwork made from reclaimed lumber.  We will source whatever we need through a broad network.  The most common locally available material for us are Northwest softwoods (i.e. pine and fir) salvaged salvaged from barns. Oak is fairly affordable and commonly available, too. Remember that we are a custom shop, so that means we will find the material that suits the customer.

We have an old barn or wood. Will you use our lumber?

- Sure. We like to keep memories. If for nostalgia reasons you want something special built out of Grandpa's barn, then let's design something around it.

-Please keep in mind the yield on reclaimed lumber is extremely low. It will take a minimum of twice as much wood as you expect to complete a project. The quality of the wood greatly effects the results and amount of raw material required to make your project. As an average rule of thumb, a door built entirely from barn lumber might need 75 - 100 board feet of raw material before machining to assemble the door. It is especially important to have good boards slightly longer than the height of the door.

How much do your doors cost?

- That varies greatly on the size of the order, materials, and complexity.  Generally we have a minimum order for custom doors of around $2000 to cover setup time, design, shipping and handling.  As the number of doors per order increases the price drops due to economics of scale.  Generally our interior door slabs start at around $600 and our exteriors at $1000 in addition to setup and base fees.  Every bid is different, though, so it should be priced with all options before assuming you know the final cost.

These costs are out of our budget, do you have any other suggestions?

Describe the inquiry and ordering process?

- The customer sends in an email inquiry with as much information as possible about their project.

- We reply with a ballpark price if there is enough information to do a quote.

- If the price is in the customer’s budget, then we will move forward with providing some samples and drawings for the project.

-We generally ship small wood samples and cross sections for free to a customer upon request.  We hesitate to send out to much, though, until the customer has spoken with us and we both understand the project well.  If the customer would like larger samples, we can send out scaled down replicas of the door with a small deposit; this deposit is refunded minus shipping if the sample is returned.

-We provide a final estimate for the whole job.  This price is fixed except for shipping charges.  If the customer makes changes to the order they may be charged for the changes proportional to the amount of time and materials used by us to accommodate this change. 

- If everybody agrees on the specifics, then the customer should mail in a check for the deposit to hold their place in production.  We do not take credit cards to keep our costs down.  If you cannot pay by check discuss with us some other options that we have to accept payment.  Included with the deposit should be signed copies of the estimate, our warranty/ contract, and shop drawings.

- Upon receipt of the deposit we will start production.

- Upon completion we will email the customer pictures to show proof of completion along with the final shipping prices in the invoice for the balance due.

- Upon all funds cleared we can ship your order to you.

What forms of payment do you accept?

- We require a deposit to start the order and payment in full prior to shipping. Emailed proof with tracking that the deposit check is in the mail is satisfactory to hold firm delivery date and reserve place in line.

- We do not accept credit cards. Most of our orders are fairly large and the processing fee is just too much. After reviewing credit card agreements we have decided that it is not necessary for us have this be a part of our business. If you absolutely must pay with a credit card, then we can make arrangements to invoice you through PayPal. We will mark up the invoice to cover the processing fees charged by PayPal.

- It is better and cheaper to plan ahead and send in a check for payment. If you are in a rush to receive the order, please consider that the USPS standard mail is slow to deliver and you may want to upgrade delivery class to speedier service. For your piece of mind and planning, we recommend you send your checks with signature confirmation and tracking.

How soon can you ship our order and what is your lead time?

- We rank all our orders according to when the deposits were received.  We are a custom shop that does not stock any finished product.  Generally a whole house full of doors takes a minimum of one month to produce.  We have never missed a promised deadline, and we take your schedule very seriously.  If it is a rush to receive the product, it is crucial to order ASAP. Good communication is also key if you are in a rush to receive your order. Note the above answers for payment terms.

- It is also helpful to start the bid and design process early.  We can work with the architect and homeowner to get the very best value out of our product.  Most of our upgrades are very affordable compared with the rest of the industry.  It also nice to have our free advice to draw the plans correctly before it is more difficult to adjust doors sizes and so forth after construction has started.

- As a value-added service, we have worked with many customers (free of charge) early in the planning process to ensure the door package (i.e. sizes, materials etc) make the most sense from a design and economic standpoint.  In many situations we have been able to save the customer significant money with our suggestions.

- We do not ship your order until full payment has been received.

How do you ship?

- Primarily we ship via LTL freight.  What this means is that a big truck will deliver your doors in a crate.  As an option they can deliver with a lift gate, meaning they will set it on the street.  You need to be prepared to unpackage the crate and move heavy doors by hand or have a forklift to unload and move the crate.  Of course this varies depending on the size of your order. 

- We build a reinforced wood box for each shipment. Your order is tightly and carefully packaged in this wood crate. You will unscrew this box to access the contents when you receive it.

We don’t live close to you (Idaho), so isn’t shipping going to be a lot?

- Shipping costs are much more affordable than most people think.  90% of our business is out of state.  It is cheaper for us to ship across the country than to a neighboring town two hours away. 

- Included in the overall cost of the order, shipping is a very minor component.

Isn’t it green to buy local?  Why should we order from you?

- Freight lines have routes all over the country.  Less diesel is often burned with an established carrier going long distances than a dedicated short trip; that is why we mentioned above the freight cost sometimes cheaper over long distances than in neighboring towns. 

- We always try to source our materials locally if available.  It saves us costs, and gives us more control over the product.  Usually we have enough raw material inventory in our storage yard to complete all but the most specialized of orders.

- It is very difficult to find a comparable quality door as ours made entirely from recycled content.  We build a solid wood engineered door, not a composite, entirely from recycled content.  Specialty products such as ours often need to be sourced from greater distances.

How do your doors compare to the competition?

- We take pride in our product and want to make sure that it is good value, unique, and built to last.  We won’t degrade a competitor’s product, but it is very difficult to compare our product in an apples to apples scenario.

- Compare to a standard wood door like a knotty alder or pine sold at lumberyards.  Our minimum thickness is 1 ¾” vs. 1 3/8”.   We’re made in America. Our thicker veneers are part of our laminating process to make reclaimed lumber lay perfectly flat over a solid wood stave core.  Our doors will accept stain better and you won’t sand through our thicker veneers.  If you ding, dent, or chip our doors it is reclaimed lumber throughout and not a composite underneath; our doors stand up to abuse better.  We always are more expensive than a mass produced doors, but these are not a comparable comparison.

- What about going to a thrift or salvage store and buying antique or used doors?  This is a great option if you can make it work.  You might save money initially, if you find the right style, and this is one of the purest forms of recycling.  However, keep in mind the hidden costs involved in this route; cost of redesign on plans to fit the doors you have sourced, refinishing and hanging the doors can be complicated and costly with both labor and materials.  In addition, many of these older doors you might have to deal with lead-paint and other environmental issues with refinishing.  These are some benefits with our doors: we can make any size, we can repeat a pattern at a later date if you want to add to the order, perfectly square and flat, you can put matching hardware on, can match throughout the home, you may save labor and install costs, you won’t have to scrape or strip of old finish, can be customized in any way you like, and we offer a warranty.

- We try to be affordable when compared to other custom shops.  It is important, too, to ask a lot of questions about how the doors are made when you start shopping.

How are your doors green?

-We are a small company focused on quality and hiring local rural labor.  We use material that otherwise would have gone to a landfill.

- Since our doors are built from reclaimed lumber they can contribute to your recycled content points for LEED certified construction.

- Note the above three answers, too.

- We believe that if one builds with a quality product made from natural materials it is a more sustainable option.  Well made products will last longer and need less replacements.  Natural material and organic design lends itself to a timeless essence.  Styles change, but if one will notice with architecture buildings built with heavy duty stone and wood seem to always be in style.

- Note the above three answers, too.

Do you prefinish doors?

- Usually, No, but we can offer advice and techniques on applications of certain products that we have tested.  We have researched and tested what we believe is the best combination of finishes that are easy to apply, durable, low VOC, user friendly, environmentally friendly, and look the best on our materials.  We will be glad to send you extra material to experiment with different finishes and techniques.

- The door needs to be sealed ASAP upon receiving it, but in our experience it is best to do the final finishes by your local painter after the crating, shipping, and install.

Do you have suggestions on how to finish our doors?

- Most importantly is that the doors need to be sealed soon upon arrival; protect them from changes in temperature and moisture.  Also they should be stored in a manner that is perfectly vertical or flat so as to not be subjected to warping.  If you do not want to final coats until later, that is fine, but an early seal coat is important. Do not expose unsealed doors to humidity, temperature fluctuations, unconditioned environment, paint or drywall curing, or sun.

- Here are some options to do finishing.  First lay the door flat on sawhorses.  Make sure it is dusted and sanded the way you want it.  Check for any cross grain scratches on rails and soften corners to your satisfaction. 

- The most commonly used finish combination is an oil based stain, followed by sanding sealer, and lacquer.  We prefer a dull rub five degree lacquer.  The advantages of lacquer are nice build, fast dry, easy sanding, commonly used and available.  The disadvantage is the odor.

- Our favorite combination to bring out the beauty in the wood and have a more user friendly product is the following detailed description.  Start with one coat of Waterlox Original Sealer/Finish.  This coat gives the rich, warm, depth, and amber color.  The later coats would look dull and plain without this coat.  If you choose to stain or darken your wood you can either tint this product or substitute a stain for it.  This finish will go bad once you open the can. Retailers sell a product called Bloxygen that is an inert gas and will keep unused Waterlox from turning bad.   It is important to let this dry a long time- longer than recommended before moving to the next coats.   All you have to do with this coat is get the wood evenly wet.  It will soak in with varying degrees from board to board but you can ignore that.  Wait about 10 minutes for the product to soak in after coating it initially and with clean cotton rag wipe off any excess and polish very minimally.  Then after a couple hours or when it is tack free with help flip the door over and do the other side.  Do not wait too long before finishing both sides as it will cup panels if you leave the door unevenly sealed and make sure to do top and bottoms.  This product has some VOC odor, so you need good ventilation and/or respirator.  Temperature needs to be over 55 degrees.  The advantage of using Waterlox under water based finishes is that it is not water based so it will not raise the grain causing more sanding.  Second, move on to one coat of EF Sanding Seal by General Finishes.  Before starting this wait as long as possible, preferably four plus days for a cure.  The Waterlox is oil based and these other products are water based.  When applying these coats make sure it is a dust free environment and no wind.  Do not touch these coats until they are completely dry.  Let this sealer coat cure about five plus hours, and when it is hard you can sand it.  It is best to hand sand only with a fine sanding sponge and after it is not gummy at all.  Just sand it well enough to get rid of hairs, dimples, rag fibers, and so forth.  Do not sand through finish.  Do all sides of the door. Third use Poly/Acrylic Matte.  To make this product tougher you can add General Finishes’ Cross Linker (especially if you are doing floors).  If you are really worried about durability substitute the High Performance water based for the poly/acrylic.  Do two plus coats of this.  It is up to you if you want to sand between these coats.   If you are going to do this yourself and use a brush, then make sure it is in good shape; an HVLP gun is the best applicator.  We prefer not too much of a build that looks caked on, but we like to do a little bit heavier build of finish in rough texture areas to make the product feels smooth and protects against slivers.  More coats will just make it feel smoother.

- The above recommendations are for interior doors only.  For exteriors we prefer not to use typical urethane based products because they tend to yellow with age.  We have not done much testing in exterior applications.  Waterlox makes exterior glossy oil that can be used on its own.  You could also use the above technique and substitute General Finishes High Performance Polyurethane Satin or Exterior 450 Satin for the final coats.  For the most common type of application by professional painters we recommend Prothane from Rudd as a final top coat for a quick drying and durable finish.  Whatever finish you use it needs to be reapplied more often than the manufacture states that it will last.  It is not unusual to have to do touch up coats on exterior wood doors every two to three years.  Sometimes on new wood it needs to be redone after the first year.  Sun is the greatest enemy to wood finishes.   Wood doors need complete 100% protection from sun and water; do not depend on your finish to do this work.

- Note of caution- Do not use water based finishes (even if applied over oil based sealer coat) on pickle wood or any material that may have salts, brine, or oil in it. Although we like water based finishes for the user friendly safe aspect, oil based finishes as a whole and lacquer seem to have more predictable and perfect results when used by a professional. Since reclaimed lumber's previous life was sometimes unknown, one may get more finish failures and undesirable results with water based finishes.

- We do not warranty any of these recommendations.  We are not liable for any of the results from following these options.  It is recommended you always experiment with a sample before applying any finish to the product.

Do you prehang?

- If necessary, we can prehang.  Our primary focus is to be a wholesale direct slab door manufacturer.  If you don’t have the means to prehang the door slabs yourself, we will make arrangements to have it done. 

- Where we excel in prehanging doors is a custom option we offer for extremely heavy doors.  We have designed a system with a steel reinforced frame and functioning strap hinges that is indestructible.

Do you supply hardware?

- If it is part of the prehang, yes.

- We have a couple vendors that focus on barn door and sliding track hardware that we refer our customers to.  A major component of our business is building sliding door slabs to go with barn door hardware.

What if we would like cabinets, furniture or trim to coordinate with our doors?

- As mentioned throughout our website, we are a custom shop and are able to work with each individual customer to meet there needs.  In many situations we have done cabinet doors, trim, flooring or tables from the matching reclaimed material.