How to Get Your Furniture to the Shop and What to Tell David

Calling a refinishing shop for the first time can feel awkward if you're not sure what to say. What kind of wood is it? What exactly is wrong with it? Do you need to carry it in or does someone come get it? Some quick preparation answers most of those questions and gets the conversation started on the right foot.

Take photos before you call

Pictures tell a shop more than a long description does. Take a shot of the whole piece from the front, one from each side and one of the back. Then take close-ups of the problem areas: the water ring, the scratch, the cracked leg, the lifting veneer. Open a drawer and photograph the inside and the way the corners are joined. If there's a maker's label or stamp, get that too.

Use daylight if you can, and avoid flash glare on glossy finishes. If you aren't sure of what the piece is made of, the photos will help the shop work it out with you. Keep them on your phone so you can describe what you're seeing while you talk, and save the best two or three to show in person when you bring the piece in.

What to tell David

David Teegarden, who owns and runs the shop, has been working on furniture for over thirty years. It helps to have a few answers ready when you call.

• What the piece is and roughly how old it is, or what you know of its history.
• What bothers you about it: the finish, a damaged spot, a wobble, a missing part, or the color itself.
• What you'd like: restored to how it was, or changed to a different look.
• Whether anyone has repaired or refinished it before, even badly.

That last point matters. Todd McCauslin wrote that on his old clock another local guy "did a bum job on a crack repair and a previous owner had a lousy refinish job years ago". Earlier work changes what the job involves, so mention it even if you're embarrassed by it.

Measure before you move anything

Getting a big piece out of the house is often harder than getting it into the shop. Measure the piece at its widest, tallest and deepest points. Then measure the path out: the width of the doorway, the height of any stair ceiling, the turns in a hallway, and the width of the stairs if you're coming down from an upper floor. Remember to measure the doorway opening itself, not the door, since a door that swings inward will take up some of the space.

Check your vehicle too. Many dressers, chests and table bases travel better with a little taken apart. Remove drawers and carry them separately. Take the leaves out of a table and, where the design allows it, take off the legs or the top. Wrap pieces in moving blankets or old quilts, and don't strap them down so tight that a strap digs into the finish or a corner. Bring helpers, since furniture that looks light often isn't, and a tall hutch or a solid wood table can be awkward even for two people. Plan where the piece will sit in the vehicle before you lift it, so you aren't standing on the driveway holding the weight while you work it out.

Drop-off by appointment

The shop is at 37 W George St (Rear) in Westminster, Maryland, and it works Monday through Friday, 9 to 2. Pickups and drop-offs are by appointment only, so call ahead before you load the car. Ask about the best place to pull in when you set the time.

The shop takes on residential and commercial furniture in any kind of wood: tables, chairs, hutches, dressers, pianos and more. Stripping, painting, staining, veneer repair, brass polishing, chair caning and chair repair are all on the list, along with scratches and cracks.

You pay when you're satisfied

The shop's policy is simple. In its own words, "you don't have to pay us until you are satisfied". That means you can look at the finished piece, check the work, and decide before any money changes hands. It's a good reason to be clear at the start about what you want, because that's what you'll be judging the work against.

To set up a time, call the shop at (410) 857-9353 or David's cell at (410) 259-7693, or use the contact page. Mary Stonesifer noted in her review that David was "very personable and assuring", and a first phone call is a good way to see that for yourself.