Dan Alleger Custom Woodworking : New Orleans, LA : Custom Furniture : Refinishing and Restoration : Furniture Repair : Flooded Furniture Restoration

This massive back bar started as pieces from an old cypress back bar that had been stored for several decades. It was poorly built originally, and what was left was falling apart. Using salvaged cypress from 3 other cabinets I collected, the entire piece was reworked. New doors were made, custom beveled mirrors installed, and lighting was added.
It is now in use at the Magazine Street Barbershop.

This child's rolltop desk flooded during Katrina, then sat in a damp garage for 4 and a half years. Some pieces were missing, all the joints were split, and the tambour pieces were in a pile. Everything was stained, dirty, and warped. After all the wood was treated, I rebuilt the tambour, recreated the missing pieces, repaired all the joints, and finished it as it was originally.

This beautiful chair was falling apart, all the cane was gone, and many parts were deteriorated or broken. After a lot of work and many hours of hand caning, it came out looking fabulous.

This was the most ambitious and time consuming restoration of all the Katrina pieces. The armoire stands at 11 feet tall and had fallen over into flood water. It was a pile of pieces when I picked it up and I had no idea what it would look like when complete. Most of it is original although I did have to replace the side panels, rear panels, recraft the upper crown details, and re-veneer the doors.

This old armoire only got about 10 inches of water, but the doors had been ripped off and it was in pretty poor condition.

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This old trunk was a big project as it was pretty far gone. With a bit of patience, however, it got a new life.

This dining chairs were in Lakeview floodwater for weeks. Most of the chair parts were still there; others were remade including an arm, spindle, and various rails and supports. Following a prolonged treatment for the stains, each chair was meticulously surfaced and finished to the customer's order. I also re-rushed all 6 seats.

This desk chair was going to be thrown out, but it was just too cool to let go. The seat splits were repaired and everything refinished.

This chair got the works. The customer wanted it refinished, reupholstered, and the damaged cane panels replaced.

Chair refinished, reupholstered, recaned

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These carved doors are from another house in Lakeview. They were stained, split, and some elements had broken off. New wood was spliced in and carved. Splits were repairs and stains removed.

This round table was flooded. New bun feet and circular rails were constructed, top veneer replaced, and all refinished.

This old cradle was in pieces when it arrived. Many spindles were broken, pieces warped, and the finish shot. Now it's ready for another generation to enjoy!

This dresser was flooded and some parts had to be remade. It had poorly refinished some years ago, but the water took care of much of that. The customer wanted a darker finish to blend in with their other furnishings.

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This armoire was one of the tougher Katrina restorations. Many of the pieces were gone, and what remained was covered in dirt, mold, and whatever else stuck to it after the flood waters receeded. This was built by the client's grandfather and was important to her. I rebuilt most of the cabinet duplicating the exact details her grandfather employed. The face frame, dust panel frames, and a few drawers were all that remained of the old cabinet. The amount of damage even those pieces sustained made them nearly impossible to restore.

These pieces all came from the same home. The chairs were both broken and had been poorly repaired over and over again. The same was true of the rocking chair which was also missing its back upholstery.

The vanity proved to be the biggest challenge, though. There were so many nails, staples, screws, and glues that had been used over the years... it was an immense task to "right" the wrongs of past poor repair work.

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SPECIAL SECTION - STEP BY STEP RESTORATION

These arm chairs were a major restoration. Both had been flooded and had missing or broken pieces. They were both covered in layers of paint, water putty, caulk, and more paint. Some of the joints were held together with staples or tape! Restoration included repair, removal of water stains, refinishing, and upholstery.

This old pie safe had seen years of dirt, wear, and neglect. It had a rough start as it was poorly built, and after years of being moved around it just fell apart.

This small liquor cabinet was flooded. The entire door and sides were recrafted and veneered to match the originals. The drawer was also remade with a solid mahogany front and dovetailed joints.

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This bedroom set consisted of a vanity, dresser, wardrobe, bed, and two chairs. Someone had dumped a lot of varnish over these pieces years ago, and they were pretty messy! In fact, there were several coats of varnish over all the hardware, too.
The owner opted not to replace the faux grain accents which then put the focus on the beautiful veneers.

This dining chair one of a set of 4. They were completely submerged for quite some time. The stains were removed, the wood repaired, the finish restored, and cane seats were installed as they appear to have been originally.

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These beautiful carved walnut doors were in a home that took on about 3 feet of water. The water heavily damaged the finish and stained the walnut.

This antique oak cabinet restoration involved paint removal, water stain removal, joint repair, split top and bottom repair, and crafting a replacement shelf.

This oak table restoration was a challenge. Water had taken all the life from the wood, parts were warped or missing, and it barely could stay together.

These two Arts & Crafts bookcases came from the same home. Both suffered severe water damage and had some pieces missing or parts that were very warped.

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These Heywood-Wakefield pieces arrived with many problems. They had been neglected for years and damaged by leaking water. Some pieces had splits and everything stained with water, ink, and grease. Duplicating the original "wheat" finish made this restoration a great success.

This pedestal table was so water damaged that many sections had floated away. The remaining pieces were split, warped, and covered with dirt and mold. This table has a high gloss French Polish finish that's depth and beauty is amazing.

This Arts & Crafts rocking chair sat in flood waters for some time. The owner was just starting to paint his home, and the flood waters tipped the paint buckets over on much of his furniture. Apart from years of wear, this rocking chair was heavily damaged from the water.

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This dresser arrived in many pieces. The pieces that were still joined fell apart as soon as it was picked up. Mold was embedded into the pores of the legs and interior support system, so many pieces had to be recrafted.
Before	After

This secretary cabinet had been heavily damaged by flood waters and mold. It was in many pieces when it arrived, and was in desperate need of repair. All drawer bottoms, interior panels, and backing pieces were replaced. The broken glass panel was also replaced. The entire piece was deep cleaned to remove mold, conditioned and refinished.