Furniture Medic to the rescue! Same day Furniture Repair in Albuquerque!

Damaged Furniture a contractors worst nightmare !!!

Recently we were called out in “an emergency”… Now we don’t usually get furniture emergencies, however in this case the client wanted the damage repaired A.S.A.P. The client was a local contractor finishing up a remodel of a house. Unfortunately one of his workers damaged the top of a cherry veneered dresser. High expectations were set with the home owner and we completed the repair on-site that very same day! Some could say we saved the day! 

See the before and after photos below.

 

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Merry Christmas from Furniture Medic by Bespoke Restoration!

Wishing everyone a fabulous holiday season!

Thank you for your business!

We appreciate you using us for all of your Albuquerque furniture repair needs in 2014!

Mark & Rachel Ryan

Holiday Card 2014

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Upcycle furniture

Up-cycling Furniture!

Using General Finishes Milk Paint.

When pieces of furniture have seen better days either in the faded and worn out finish or simple their style the first thought maybe to throw it out and add to the landfill problem!

It is becoming increasingly popular to give the piece new life by simply adding a few coats of paint. General Finishes Milk paint comes in an array of colors and can even be matched.

In the examples below we were asked to paint two nightstands that no longer worked with a newly remodeled room. See our customer comments;

10/10 Ms. Ruma;

“Mark was very professional. After he picked up the pieces, there were a couple of items he needed clarification about and texted me to ensure the process would run smoothly. He was prompt in his pick-up and delivery. His explanations about how to care for the pieces after the restoration were very helpful. Overall, this was a wonderful experience and I will use Furniture Medic again”!

9/10 Ms. Florez

“I am loving my vanity.  What a difference, the before and after”.

This vanity was salvaged from Good Will store in ABQ and brought back to life.

10/10 Catherine

“Customer attention; Mark really listened and “got” what I was wanting. He made this well-worn valet chair look not only proud of its age, but like a much finer piece of furniture than it had ever been”.

The Valet chair had been in the family for years and was used by the customer father, she wanted it in the house but felt its current state did not fit with her home décor.

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Pet Damage Furniture Repair Albuquerque! Dogs just love to chew stuff…

Furniture Medic by Bespoke Restoration is often called upon for a solution to for pet damage to wood and wood-like surfaces. This blog is all about getting the word out that this type of furniture repair is possible and of course to share some of our recent before and after furniture repair photos.

Dogs and cats can’t be blamed for strengthening their teeth or sharpening their claws- can they?  Although you sure would like their assistance in paying for the damage repairs to say your walnut coffee table or dining table chair arm! Many of our customers are worried that the furniture is damaged beyond repair. Fortunately, in many cases we are able to repair the damaged furniture to pre-loss condition!

Using on-site precision repair techniques, Furniture Medic by Bespoke Restoration, was able to repair the following the 3 items. Our recent customer  with a damaged coffee table corner provided this review to our “Tell FM” review site:

10/10

“The restoration expert arrived right on time. He thoroughly protected the surrounding floor area and began work. It was a difficult repair (dog chewed the corner of the coffee table) and the repair was excellent. I will definitely use him again if I have to have a nice piece of furniture repaired.”

Here is our review for the repaired bed post seen in photos in rows 2&4

10/10

“Mark works quickly and is personable. However, the main reason for our commendation is his work. An old piece of furniture we purchased was in worse shape than we originally thought. A corner of the bedpost was major league scratched/chewed up and we were going to have to sacrifice the whole bedroom set. Mark saved it for us and it looks as good as it would have new. Mark also is flexible in his scheduling. We recommend him with no reservations. He should be called furniture magician or at least artist.”

 

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Bring Life back to Outdoor Patio Furniture!

Exterior Patio Table and Benches Furniture Restoration in Albuquerque

The weather in New Mexico can be the best in the country, however with an average of 278 days of sun beating down on your wooden furniture something has got to give, namely the paint or finish used to dress the raw timber (top coat/ finish the wood).

The piece we were asked to restore was designed and built by the home owner’s grandfather. In the glorious sunshine of New Mexico the finish had deteriorated rather drastically, so much so that it was uncomfortable to sit on the benches and use the table surface. The finish on the table and benches was very rough and flakey from years of exposure to the elements.

We were able to sand off the old finish and re top coat using General Finishes Exterior 450 part of their Enduro range. As standard practice we top coat 3 times over raw timber.  We offer a 5 year guarantee on wood treated in this way. We always recommend covering or bringing furniture in from the elements if possible when not in use.

Take a look at the before and after photos and the “Tell FM” review our customer left.

10/10 Matthew Trujillo “Very very happy with the restoration project! We cannot say enough positive things. Mark provided exceptional service and dealt with our project with honesty and integrity. The completed project exceeded our expectations and we will definitely be recommending him to friends and associates.”

 

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Antique English Bureau and Book Case Moving Damage Restoration Albuquerque

Antique English Bureau and Book Case Repair

Damaged during moving

A member of the US Air force Military had been stationed in England, whilst there they fell in love with a circa 1800’s hand carved writing desk with stained glass doors. While it made it across the pond without a scratch disaster struck as it was being unloaded off the moving lorry outside the shipper’s home. The base of the cabinet was hit hardest, the writing desk top swung open and was ripped from its hinges, and some pieces of wood surrounding the hinges were lost at this point. Also the whole cabinet carcass holding the drawers was knocked out of alignment.

The repair process:

The base cabinet had to be dismantled so that it could be realigned. During this process one of the drawers needed a repair. Once the cabinet carcass was square a precision repair to the hinge area was carried out using epoxy putty and then faux wood grain was added and color blended back. During the move the piece had collected a lot of dust and dirt so we cleaned it with 50/50 distilled water and denatured alcohol, and then we waxed the piece to bring the finish back to a beautiful luster.

The shipper was extremely happy with the final results see their Tell FM review below:

10/10 Angela Leeds Mark did a beautiful job restoring our antique and polishing it up nicely. We really appreciate your friendly service!

Here are the before, during and after photos:

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Circa: 1900’s Antique Travel Trunk Restoration Albuquerque

Travel Trunk Restoration at Furniture Medic in Albuquerque

This trunk was in bad need of repair and restoration. It needed a complete clean, however we had to use care not to lose the character provided by the years of patina built up on the surface. The pin construction that was holding the tin cladding was in fair condition but a few of the pins needed hammering back into place. Also the pins holding the two hinges to the top were loose and could not be tightened due to over use, which caused the wood to deteriorate. Here we used barrel head cap nuts and 5/8” bolts to repair the trunk top and then aged the metal appropriately to blend in with the tin and wood of the trunk. Some areas of the tin had been torn away and were dangerously sticking out, this was a hazard to users lifting or walking closely past the trunk. The sharp areas were repaired flush with the surrounding tin. Overall the trunk turned out beautifully and our customer was very pleased with the trunk restoration.

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Retro 1920’s Barstool Restoration Albuquerque Furniture Medic

Barstool Restoration

Our customer wanted to surprise her husband by getting a bar stool he had since childhood restored. As you can see from the before photos it had been well used or “well-loved” as I like to say. We had to replace the vinyl and re-upholstered the seat with new foam and then matched the vinyl to the original shade of vinyl. We then disassembled the stool and took all the wooden pieces apart in order to strip and refinish them. We also cleaned up the base and sprayed it black again to return it to the original color. Finally all of the barstool fixtures were tightened and reassembled bringing this sentimental stool back to life.

Please read our customer feedback posted on Tell FM:

10/10 Shannon Horst Easy to work with and committed to doing what client wants within budget and find solutions. And simply very pleasant to work with, high quality work in finished piece.
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Furniture Medic was featured on New Mexico Homes in an article about Furniture Restoration

You can view the full article here:

http://www.newmexicohomes.com/articles/furniture-restoration-process-interview-mark-ryan-furniture-medic

The Furniture Restoration Process: An Interview with Mark Ryan of Furniture Medic

By Mark Ryan

Tell us a little bit about your company and its foundation.

Furniture Medic is the largest restoration company focused on wood furnishings and fixtures. The company was founded in Atlanta in 1992, and we recently purchased the territory serving Bernalillo and Sandoval counties.

Furniture Medic provides services to both residential and commercial clients. For residential customers, we are often asked to restore historical or sentimental pieces of furniture so that new generations of the family can enjoy it. This might be anything from repairing damaged pieces of wood to removing water stains to changing the finish on a piece. We also can change the look of existing cabinets or match pieces of wood furniture by changing the color of the wood from, for example, oak to walnut. Some of our residential customers have had furniture damaged during a move, and the moving company is paying for the repair. Furniture Medic also provides services to those who have had furniture, cabinetry or other wood surfaces damaged in a fire or flood. Since we have the ability to do work onsite and we can match a new piece of cabinetry to existing cabinetry, and just repair damaged areas (for example one cabinet). This often allows for more cost effective repairs and less inconvenience to our customers who can often continue to use their homes and kitchens while we make these less invasive repairs.

For commercial clients, we are often providing what is called “image enhancement”. As you can imagine, public spaces in businesses often take a beating. Through our image enhancement, we can remove scuffs, gouges, scratches, etc., from wood fixtures like doors, entry ways, molding, and wood furniture like tables, desks and chairs. Our service allows businesses to maintain a professional look while gaining extra life from furniture. When businesses compare what it costs to replace furniture versus having Furniture Medic provide image enhancement, it’s really no contest. Repair and restore beats replace almost every time.

I am excited to bring the Furniture Medic brand to this area. When I changed careers from teaching design technology and looked at starting my own business, I found a business that let me focus on something I really enjoy ? working with wood ? and the ability to meet new people and improve the look of their surroundings. I think people will be amazed at what Furniture Medic can do to salvage wood furniture that they thought was beyond repair or restoration. The majority of the products we use are water-based, which cuts down on chemical smell.

We completed training in Memphis, Tennessee, which is where Furniture Medic is headquartered. While we were there, we learned about color matching, repairing scuffs, gouges, scratches, etc., from wood surfaces, building molds to replace damaged parts of furniture and many other wood repair and restoration techniques. We are anxious to now show our expertise to the local community.

We would be happy to demonstrate our work to commercial businesses considering image enhancement. All they need to do is call us or visit us on the web at www.fmbespokerestoration.com or on our Facebook page, which is Furniture Medic by Bespoke Restoration. As we have developed our client base, we have been adding “before” and “after” photos to our portfolio so that people can gain a better understanding of what Furniture Medic can do. In the meantime, we would love to speak to anyone who has questions about restoring wood fixtures or furnishings.

If you could, please list the steps of the general furniture restoration process:

When taking on a restoration project, let’s say for example a table. The first step we would take would be to carry out a full inspection of the stabilization of the table, the condition of the stain & finish, we would then look to see the material used to construct the table i.e. is it veneered or solid timber. Next we would clean it, which leads to sanding/scuffing the surface then it is cleaned again. A stain is then applied if necessary and then it is ready for the final seal/top coat, which is applied a minimum of 3 times sanding slightly in between coats.

What are general restoration techniques that you use?

There are no particular techniques per say, I guess it’s all about patience and attention to detail. I treat every piece as if I were restoring it for myself.

How can a client tell if their piece is able to be restored?

All pieces can be restored to some extent. One factor that would prevent you from restoring would be if the restoration process is to exceed the value of the piece. Having said that I have restored some items with sentimental value where the customer did not care about this discrepancy. If the piece is too badly damaged or missing many components the original integrity of the item could be compromised by the newly manufactured parts needed for the repair.

How do you suggest clients prepare for a this process?

Customers can prepare for getting their item restored by have clear expectations of how they want the restored piece to look. They should also have a budget in mind. With that being said they should be flexible in both their expectations and price it would take to restore the item.

What are some common issues you face when it comes to restoring furniture?

Common issues usually arise when dealing with veneered surfaces. Due to the thin nature of the material it is difficult to strip old finish and stain because you might not have the option to sand the surface thoroughly enough to get rid of the damaged areas. Another problem is finding replacement hardware and fixtures, for the simple reason that many are not manufactured any more.

DIY restorations can also seriously impact the ability of a piece of damaged furniture to be properly repaired. A common problem is non skilled attempts to glue up a joint or damaged area. If done incorrectly the glue can squeeze out and dry!!! if it drys and the join is not tight then the repair is suspect to failure, also it makes it very difficult for a professional to clean out the old glue, which is imperative to re-glue the damaged area appropriately.

What’s the best way for people to get in contact with you?

The best way to contact us for an estimate is to send in some detailed photos to our email address; info@fmbespokerestoration.com. By including an explanation of the damage and the restoration require and where the item is located in Albuquerque we are able to offer you a range estimate and restoration plan.

– See more at: http://www.newmexicohomes.com/articles/furniture-restoration-process-interview-mark-ryan-furniture-medic#sthash.ofwx82u6.dpuf

 

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Custom Wood Furniture Repair: Cherry Veneer Cabinets & Hardwood Floor Repairs

Custom Furniture Repair in Placitas, New Mexico

Furniture Medic by Bespoke Restoration was asked by an interior architect to aid one of his clients that needed repairs throughout their house. They had beautiful custom built cherry veneer cabinets throughout their home that needed image enhancement on the cabinet doors and trim millwork. Mark did a full day of precision infill and color blending repairs to the cherry wood veneer to cover over the wear and tear (dents, nicks and scratches) and make them look like new again. During the image enhancement process the customer also had mark repair three areas of gouges to the dark cherry hardwood floors.

Here is the great review the interior designer Wayne Mikosz provided regarding Bespoke Restoration on Angie’s list:

Description Of Work:

“Repair and refinishing of minor chips dents and gouges on custom cabinetwork throughout residence.”

Member Comments: 

“Mark was on time and very professional. He addressed all of my clients concerns and did top notch repairs of scuff marks, chips, scratches and overall wear damages to extensive custom cabinetwork throughout the residence.”

Here is the nice review the home owner Christie Logan provided directly to the “Tell FM” Furniture Medic Review website: 10 out of 10 “I have a lot of custom cabinetry in my home and after 5 +years from installation it was starting to show little nicks and scratches from ‘life.’ I wanted to preserve my investment by having some maintenance done. Mark did a totally splendid job. I am VERY picky, and I was amazed at what he was able to do. Mark was on time and a consummate professional. I would not hesitate to recommend his services.”

Take a look at the “before” and “after” photos of the work:

 

 

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