Door Restoration & Repair
Houston sun and Gulf Coast humidity destroy a door’s finish long before they destroy the door. Most of what Diego looks at is solid wood underneath and worth saving — for a fraction of what a replacement costs.
One man. One trade. Doors.
Same Door
This one is in Dickinson. Same door, same hinges, same frame — stripped to bare wood, repaired where the weather got in, and re-sealed for full Gulf Coast sun.
Drag the handle — or use the arrow keys.
On a south or west-facing entry, the finish is the part that dies. UV breaks down the topcoat, humidity swells the wood, and storm rain finds the joints. The door underneath is usually still good.
What I Do
No decks, no cabinets, no framing. Doors — which is why Diego usually knows what is wrong with yours before he puts a hand on it. All of it done at your house, and most of it done in one day.
Exterior or interior — a grey, cracked, peeling door taken back to bare wood and finished so it looks better than the day it was hung. Done at your house in one day, double doors included.
Sticking, dragging, rattling, rotted at the bottom. Most of what goes wrong with a door is fixable in an afternoon, and cheaper the sooner you call.
If you can see daylight around your door you are paying to cool the yard — and on the Gulf Coast, that same gap is how the rain gets in.
Handlesets, deadbolts, hinges, closers and kickplates — supplied and fitted, or your existing brass cleaned up and put back working.
If a door really is past saving, Diego will say so and sell you the right replacement instead — then hang it properly in an opening that is rarely square.
Other work requests are considered too. If it is made of wood and it needs bringing back, ask.
How It Goes
Tell Diego what the door is doing. A couple of photos by text usually tell him most of it before he drives out.
He comes out, checks the wood, the joints, the frame and the hardware, and tells you honestly whether it is worth saving.
A firm price with what is included. Free, and no obligation. The price does not move once you have agreed to it.
The door comes off its hinges and the opening is sealed with plastic sheeting. Most jobs are done in one day, single or double, and the door is back on before he leaves.
Recent Work
Rotted through and holed at the bottom. Same door, back in service.
Beveled leaded glass entry, taken back to a deep mahogany
Wrought-iron double doors, grey and dry when he found them
Painted door and leaded sidelights out, mahogany doubles in
Broken glass, boarded up — replaced with mahogany doubles
New craftsman door, stained to match the trim
Old panel door out, modern five-lite in
Rotted threshold cut out and replaced
Arched leaded glass, brought back to a warm even finish
Other Work
Garage doors, benches, tables. If it is wood and it needs bringing back, ask him.
Garage door, resprayed
Cedar bench
Trestle dining table
Who Shows Up
There is no crew, no salesman and no subcontractor. Diego Monroy quotes the job, and Diego Monroy is the one on your porch doing it — which is the only way to keep the standard where he wants it.
He has been working on doors around Houston since 2000. A door is a moving part in a fixed hole, with Gulf Coast weather on one side and air conditioning on the other — and in this climate that is a full trade on its own.
If a door is genuinely past saving he will tell you so and quote a new one instead. Better to lose the job than take money for a finish that will not hold.
Service Area
Based in Houston and out across the greater metro — the arched door on this page is in Dickinson. If you are a little further out, call anyway; for a full restoration it is usually still worth the drive.
Questions
Usually, yes. Grey, cracked, peeling and faded are finish problems, not door problems — and a finish can always be redone. What Diego looks for is structural rot in the bottom rail and joints that have opened up, and even most of those he can repair. He will tell you straight if yours is the exception.
Most jobs are done in one day. A straightforward restoration is often just a few hours; a double door, or one that needs real repair work first, takes longer — but it is still the one visit.
He works fast, and he works at your house, so there is no shop queue and no second trip. If something turns up that genuinely needs another visit, he tells you before he starts rather than after.
No — everything happens at your house. The door comes off its hinges and the opening is sealed with plastic sheeting while he works, so your house stays closed up the whole time. The door goes back on before he leaves.
It depends on the door, the damage and the finish, so Diego will not guess at a number over the phone. What he will say is that a restoration typically runs a fraction of what a comparable new door costs installed. The estimate is free and it is a firm price, not a range.
Houston humidity. Wood takes on moisture and swells, then shrinks back when the air dries out. A door sealed properly on all six sides — including the top and bottom edges, which most doors never get — moves far less. If yours only sticks in August, that is usually an unsealed edge, and it is a cheap fix.
Yes. If a door is past saving, or you simply want a different one, Diego sells and hangs new doors too — slab or pre-hung, interior or exterior. Several of the entries in the gallery above are replacements, not restorations.
Don’t Take My Word
Texan Door has been listed around the Bay Area for years. There are more photos and what his customers actually said on every one of these.
Free Estimates
A picture of the door, and a close-up of whatever is wrong with it, is usually all he needs to give you a price.
832-277-1766Request A Quote
Fill this in and it opens a message to Diego in your email app, already written. Attach your photos before you send it.