"Rob Hanson" wrote in message
...
Okay, the saga continues, but this is where the opportunity gets to be
fun.

I've posted a few pictures of the house in question, link below. They show
not only the doors and beams that I've been referring to, but also the
scale of the place. The client has put the beams on hold for now, waiting
to see what I can do to the garage doors.

The underlying wood is mahogany. The wood was stained with a BenMoore
oil-based penetrating stain which had walnut along with red and black.
This stain has failed due to lack of maintenance. So far, all attempts to
remove the stain with chemicals have failed. Not only that, but removing
the stain via chemical is bound to cause issues... the house drains to a
waterway. I was only able to get down to the wood by planing and sanding.
(I have sample pieces in my shop.) The stuff underneath is beautiful...
sheesh.

Considering how much manpower and noxious chemicals would be taken up in
trying to remove the stain, sand, and start anew, I'm thinking of
proposing that the client replace the garage doors, with me doing the
finish on them. (Currently my favorite choice is the CPES and Epifanes
mentioned earlier in the thread.) Overall, this would be a lot less time
and effort.

Question is: If you could replace the garage doors with any readily
available wood, what would you choose? Take a look at the pictures and see
what you think would look best relative to the stonework on the house, as
well as the beams staying dark as they are. I've got one species in mind,
but would love to hear your opinions...

The link to the pictures:

http://www.robhansonphotography.com/...6428476_jjFgKN

What a mess. The problem I see, is that all the exposed wood looks similar.
Anything you do on doors, etc, has to match everything else. And if you do
something different by making new doors, are you going to make new beams
too. Not to mention taking out the old ones and installing the new ones.

At least with the doors, you can take them off and work on them. You won't
be able to do that with the beams. Whoever did the work on the exterior
wood really screwed this home owner. She was asking for a lot and should
have been expected to pay for it.

My advise would be to just use the original wood and structures. That is
what she paid big money for. And that is what she is trying to get back.
To do something else doesn't take into account her heavy emotional
investment into her castle.

And if you pull off a miracle and restore her dream, then you will be good
to go on everything else. But is has to be really expensive. It sounds
like you did a good job of explaining that to her. Now just follow through.