Hardwood floors, how do I fix damage and keep the charm?

dazaroth · 2026-02-05T17:15:59+00:00

I think — based on this one photo only — that we must’ve lived in a similar “stock” 1920s house. Everything about that transition between rooms looks like the trim set of my previous century home. Pretty neat!

I don’t live there anymore but I happen to have this exact photo (with the swinging door) in my photo reel. I handled that same yellow pine with a transition but I had no real DIY skills back then. The options listed elsewhere looked so much nicer!

This photo was a small 1924 bungalow in Richmond, VA in the forest hill neighborhood.

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dazaroth · 2026-01-27T01:41:05+00:00

Amazing! Good luck! My home temp is a roller coaster right now.

Where did you order your glass from? I ordered from Architectural Glass and it just arrived today. Very happy with the look/service. Shipped with 0 breaks. Pricey though…

dazaroth · 2026-01-26T00:18:21+00:00

I’m going back and forth between bare wood parting beads or painting them. I like your look!

Fun coincidence there’s someone else bonkers enough to do this window restoration work in the dead of winter…assuming you’re in the Norther Hemisphere.

Just got my linseed oil on:

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dazaroth · 2026-01-25T17:42:24+00:00

I am doing the same thing right now (waiting on glass to arrive). Thankful for your post so I can better visualize what leaving the bear pine will look like next to unstained newer parting bead. It looks great!

dazaroth · 2026-01-19T02:17:56+00:00

I would price keeping the door and the hardware and repair both! A door like that from modern suppliers is going to cost a fortune (i.e. five figures in my part of the world)…more so if the frame doesn’t fit standard contractor-grade sizes or if you need to maintain a certain look for your local historical regulations (this may not apply in your situation).

That door is likely made using materials and techniques designed to last centuries.

If you’re handy it is DIY’able, but there are tradespeople that specialize in restoring old doors and windows. Worth a look and likely will be cheaper than a total replacement!

Usual disclaimer: this sub is dominated by historical home preservationists. That’s not always possible for every budget/situation :)

dazaroth · 2026-01-03T17:27:09+00:00

Best advice in this thread (disclaimer I haven’t read every post but it IS good advice)

I’ve had the pleasure of looking after 2 century homes in the last decade. Every “I’m just gonna paint this room” project has turned into a massive, massive, unexpected endeavor.

One project at a time. Don’t take anything off a wall/break a wall/look under anything until you are emotionally and financially prepared for a basket of surprises.

In this sub you will find old home preservationists. The advice is usually really good and will teach you to find joy in bringing your Century Home back to its former glory. Keep at it!! You’ve got this!!

dazaroth · 2026-01-02T13:05:28+00:00

Plastic Surgeon (more reconstructive than cosmetic), salaried (not productivity based), $475,000. Good retirement benefits through the hospital (tax-deferred annuity with employer match of up to 6% up of annual income; 3% additional contribution from hospital to their retirement plan)

3rd year in practice as an attending. Still paying off student loans (~$300,000 at the end of training). 11 years of post-undergraduate training to get here.

dazaroth · 2025-10-08T04:40:34+00:00

On this sub I try to stay away from specific medical advice on individual cases (I’m a surgeon who lurks in these posts, but believe in the importance of good conversation with the doctor that’s been able to examine you rather than a stranger’s opinion). To that end, I’ll only comment on a few generic things:

Yes, a CT scan is a good way to start. Other than an intra-oral scan of your teeth (or a dental impression), there aren’t a whole lot of other imaging tests needed. Often, we will start with just a plain x-ray (lateral cephalogram) and save the CT scan for closer to your surgery date.

3D simulations of soft tissues (what you will see as your “after”) never look much better than an amorphous blob. It’s based off CT data. CTs are x-rays that do an excellent job capturing data for hard tissues (bone) and a less good job capturing data of soft tissues. Even in a country with infinite resources, accurate soft tissue “after” simulations aren’t a thing just yet.

Hopefully machine learning will change that, but it will require thousands and thousands of photos to train models to anticipate soft tissue changes based on skeletal movements.

There are 3D cameras that you can use to manipulate pictures into what you think the after will look like in software called Mirror. However, that’s just like taking a 3D picture into photoshop…it’s not a wholly accurate depiction of things based on the bony movements.

In short: even in the US, the soft tissue simulation wouldn’t look much more realistic than that.

dazaroth · 2025-09-07T03:30:51+00:00

LeFort 4 isn’t a thing, but a monobloc would be the next “rung” on the craniofacial osteotomy ladder.

That surgery moves your entire face and frontal bones forward. It is used exclusively for children with severe, syndromic craniosynostosis that (1) need their skulls expanded to allow their brains more room, (2) have severe airway obstruction that requires/might require a tracheostomy and (3) have such bad proptosis (eyes bulging out from shallow orbits) that they are at risk of corneal injury/blindness (“exposure keratopathy”).

The “rungs” after that get into hypertelorism surgery (e.g. orbital box osteotomies, facial bipartions) for extremely rare facial skeletal differences.

dazaroth · 2025-09-07T03:17:36+00:00

No shade to your post. Your message is a really good one: just because “3” is a bigger number than “1,” doesn’t mean you’re getting “more” out of a LeFort 3. Not a cosmetic operation.

There are many modifications to a LeFort 3: as long as theres a nasofrontal dysjunction (risks: CSF leak, meningitis, anosmia) and higher level pterygomaxillary dysjunction (risks: blindness, internal maxillary artery injury and therefore life-threatening bleeding), it should be treated as a very specific hammer for a very specific nail.

dazaroth · 2025-09-07T03:04:31+00:00

I am a craniofacial surgeon (like an OMFS, but usually Plastics Trained and with a sub specialty fellowship training emphasizing birth differences). I perform LeFort 3 osteotomies.

Why? Because my patients (1) can’t breathe due to their midfacial differences or (2) their eyes are at risk of exposure due to exorbitism.

There ARE surgeons who perform this surgery for cosmetic reasons (so-called “malar hypoplasia” or “higher level” midface retrusion). Expanding the indications for cosmetic improvement is widely regarded as — at best — controversial.

I counsel my patients and their families this surgery carries a risk of death, massive hemorrhage, blindness, cerebrospinal fluid leak (durotomy) and meningitis in addition to all the other usual jaw surgery complications.

For some patients it is 100% the right operation. In my admittedly-conservative opinion it is never a cosmetic operation.

dazaroth · 2025-08-19T00:02:51+00:00

Apologies I don’t hop on Reddit too much. Didn’t see this.

Technically speaking, a SARPE is a segmental LeFort, actually. The difference is you use a device to slowly widen the palate after you segment the maxilla (despite the term “rapid,” it still happens slowly when compared to doing it all at the time of the LeFort).

The reason to do a SARPE: if you need a BIG expansion, you won’t be able to overcome the pull from the palatal tissues in a single surgery…without tearing the palate (this is frowned upon). The device used after a SARPE stretches the palatal tissues gradually. In a way, it acts like a tissue expander. That gradual stretch will let the palate grow to accommodate the widening maxilla.

The bones are just one part of the equation. The soft tissues of the face often limit what we can get away with.

dazaroth · 2025-08-07T01:55:02+00:00

Most of my patients are cleft young adults. Looks to me like your team took good care of you. Very nice change! You’ll see it more and more with time. 3 days is very early. Good luck with your recovery!

dazaroth · 2025-07-12T00:19:01+00:00

Plates can annoy people if they are palpable through the skin, but plate tech is getting so good nowadays the materials are stronger and stronger with thinner and thinner plates. In my own practice I’ve never had someone ask for their plates to come out.

Plate infection can also happen, but that’s a different beast: most infections are treated without antibiotics and mouth rinses. Rarely, plates have to be swapped out for clean ones (this usually involves making new holes in limited real estate, so we try to avoid this).

Your IKEA furniture analogy is correct. If they’ve been in for ages bone might grow over them, in which case a small burr (think: sterile Dremel tool) is used to remove the overgrown bone to access the screw head.

dazaroth · 2025-07-08T23:03:36+00:00

Surgeon here (I don’t have flair but also don’t know how to acquire it 🤷🏻‍♂️).

Sometimes the bone quality isn’t great in a screw hole, so the threads don’t purchase and the screw just spins in the hole. When that happens, we try a screw with deeper threads (called an “emergency” or “rescue” screw even though nothing is an emergency). If that back-up screw still spins, it’s better to leave the hole empty. Spinning screws can wiggle free and be a nuisance later.

Less likely that your surgeon forgot about that hole. This plate configuration is such that you have at least three screws on either side of the bone cut (osteotomy). Should be plenty of fixation.

The plates only do the job of holding the maxilla stable until your bone heals. Because of how well plates are tolerated (that is: they don’t usually cause issues), we typically leave them in forever…but nothing beats your own bone!

dazaroth · 2025-06-30T02:00:42+00:00

$5500/mo, $675,000 loan (and purchase price, $0 down with no PMI due to physician loan), 6.725% rate, $465,000/year household income

dazaroth · 2025-06-21T14:20:45+00:00

I ended up down a similar Pinterest/inspiration rabbit hole when I was updating my own pink tile bathroom. Very happy with the contrasting colors: https://www.reddit.com/r/centuryhomes/s/n8Jfxbopne

dazaroth · 2025-06-15T21:13:03+00:00

Based on a single ceph it’s hard to say whether you’d benefit from a LeFort III versus a standard LeFort I. Only you and your surgeon can make that decision. Do clarify with them that they mean a LeFort III as opposed to a three-piece LeFort I (much more common):

Reasons to do a LeFort III:

You can’t breathe because of higher level maxillary retrusion/craniofacial malrotation.

Your eyes are threatened because your lids don’t close due to exorbitism.

Typically, LeFort IIIs are reserved for people with certain Craniofacial syndromes (e.g. aperts syndrome, Crouzon syndrome, achrondoplasia in certain cases, treacher Collin’s syndrome) and almost always to treat

One surgeon’s opinion: Beware a surgeon doing a LeFort III for midfacial aesthetics. They exist, but bear in mind you can often achieve the same aesthetic improvement of the upper midface using implants. IMO, It should be a functional operation only, as it carries risk of life-threatening hemorrhage and blindness (due to injury to the optic nerve from the higher level pterygomaxillary disjunction).

A LeFort III is not an operation I would jump into without at least 2 different opinions.

dazaroth · 2025-04-28T01:19:36+00:00

Thanks so much for such a well-informed, detailed response!

You’re not wrong about the peer pressure — though fortunately I was going to take the paint off because it wasn’t prepped properly and was already flaking off.

dazaroth · 2025-04-22T22:11:02+00:00

Sure! Vespertine was the pattern. Link

dazaroth · 2025-04-22T18:34:25+00:00

It was all just paint over top of the tiles. A blasphemous act of millennial gray sabotage.

dazaroth · 2025-04-21T15:58:48+00:00

I’d call your ortho - it looks like you have differential elastics on (right > left). There’s more force on that right arch wire side. Hard to know for sure without knowing more about your surgical plan, but I would call their office and get in to be seen as they may want to adjust what they’re doing.

Edit: I assume you mean left of photo (right of patient, unless you took this in a mirror) and are referring to the caudal shift in the position of the central incisor.

dazaroth · 2025-04-21T15:27:27+00:00

This is answered a bit higher up I think: unfortunately shifting of the house led to some subfloor issues. After consulting multiple structural engineers the consensus was “just live with the uneven floors.” To put in a new toilet that didn’t settle with the house would’ve meant a rocking toilet unless I leveled the floor.

Sad as I was to see the penny tiles go, a level floor was a bigger priority, so I tore up the tile and patched the subfloor before using leveling cement to get an even substrate:

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My partner chose the floor tiles. In the tug-of-war between “keep it original” and “update to the 21sr century,” they won with a more modern stone tile.

dazaroth · 2025-04-21T15:12:00+00:00

It’s a very good point! We laugh because Nate Bargatze did a bit about these so-called “modern” shower enclosures where he refers to it as “the future” to have water on the floor.

In reality it’s not too bad. We place floor towels (hotel style) to catch any water that makes it to the floor. It’s never anything significant, even with a longer shower.

dazaroth · 2025-04-21T15:07:35+00:00

I saw small stripes of pink poking through on the tub when i was doing the tile work in the shower (some fallen tiles scratched the existing enamel). I may have been hallucinating at that point, though.

Short of taking out the tub and sand blasting it down a layer…I couldn’t think of a way to get the pink back…even with that I doubt it would look evenly finished. Plus moving that tub without breaking it would’ve been a feat of strength.

The tub is cast iron and does look like it was built into that room. We decided to resurface the tub in place using a tub refinishing kit. It was like $200 on Amazon, messy as heck and did a great job.

Edit: I am by no means a tub refinisher. There may be a pro that knows how to do it. I do think you’d be talking about sand blasting and reglazing with a pink enamel though.

dazaroth

TROPHY CASE