ᐅ Painting, varnishing, or replacing wooden windows and interior doors?

I need some experience and tips again on the topic of "refreshing old, dark windows and doors."
The door leaves and frames are real wood veneer, and the window frames are solid wood. Our building inspector said that technically everything is fine and replacement is not necessary, so we want to keep all components.

The goal is to make everything light (white, light beige, for example), which is obviously much cheaper than replacement. Is this something you can realistically do yourself, or is it better to hire a painter or carpenter?

Does anyone know roughly what this costs per door and window?

Thanks!

Alibert87 schrieb:

Does anyone know approximately how much this costs?

Paint! So, lacquer and/or stain 🙂 The price can vary widely… check if sanding is possible and whether using a cleaner is enough or if a primer is needed. I never calculated the exact cost: whatever is necessary gets done, and that’s it. It’s always cheaper than buying new or hiring a professional.

You can do it yourselves if one of you is handy.
… it depends on how precise you want to be. Painting itself: about 10 minutes per side for a door leaf, and a quarter to half an hour for the frame. But prep work and multiple coats will of course add time. This is usually done alongside other renovation work, since the coats need to dry.
For windows, you need to check what type of finish is currently on them. Thick-layer stain might be best in some cases. Prep work takes time. One thing often overlooked with windows is renewing the glazing putty (because of the paint).

Ps, inform yourselves and choose what suits you and is feasible. You should spend some time reading about the properties of paints, varnishes, and stains, and understand which products are compatible with each other and suitable for different surfaces. Advice from various sources may refer to different situations; for example, acrylic is quite different from solvent-based paints.

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ypg schrieb:

Paint! So, varnish and/or stain 🙂 You need to check what’s currently on the surface, whether it can be sanded down, if washing with a cleaner is enough, or if a primer is necessary. I never calculated the cost exactly: whatever is necessary gets done, and that’s fine. It always ends up being cheaper than buying new or paying for a professional.

You can do this yourselves if one of you is handy.
... it depends on how precise you want it to be. Painting itself: about 10 minutes per side for a door panel, and a quarter to half an hour for the frame. But of course, preparation work and multiple coats add up. Usually, you do it alongside a renovation since the coats need time to dry.
For windows, you need to see what coating is currently applied. Possibly a thick-layer stain is best. Preparation time counts as well. One thing often forgotten with windows: renewing the glazing putty (because of the paint).

Yes, thanks for the assessment. My question is how fast and good a professional can work, and how large the price difference is. I read prices of around 170 Euro per door and frame. If I need about 2 hours total per door and frame, plus materials, then it’s a matter of weighing the options. If my result is significantly worse than a painter’s, then the savings won’t be worthwhile.

Oh, you mean the price from a professional? No, I can’t tell you that.
Let me put it this way: if you hire someone to do it, you probably have more money than you need. If you want everything done for you (including walls), then ask for a fixed lump sum price.
If you can’t paint, then don’t do it yourself. It will show.

As I mentioned before, I misunderstood your question. Many people try to save money exactly for this reason—every hundred dollars you have to pay for something you could do yourself hurts.

The community around the colors of "Miss Pompadour" has a huge number of online examples from people who have painted their old wooden doors. The results are consistently impressive, and there is plenty of guidance and support available. It’s worth taking a look, as spending a few hundred euros on the doors seems reasonable to me. You can choose any color you want.
You can also get the doors in white.
Usually, real wood is treated with a primer (either “sealant” or “blocker,” as the brand calls them), and then you can apply 2-3 coats of opaque paint on top, including white or light colors.

I used the paints in the bathroom of our transitional house. I didn’t work very carefully since I didn’t want to invest much time or money (we won’t live here long), and I didn’t use a primer—I basically applied the paint directly onto the tiles, and only did one coat. Nonetheless, I’m already very satisfied with the improvement. With proper care and two coats, you could achieve excellent results. And I’m definitely not an experienced DIYer.