I’ve just got to say that I really love how you handled the two flops in the video. I used to watch another flipper and in one video the whole project led up to a surprise that she didn’t show at the end and when people expressed their displeasure she was very flippant. I find myself moving away from that sort of youtube personality and I’m so grateful for your genuineness and how you show the reality of furniture flipping.
You are so honest and ethical. I don't think most sellers would disclose the wood worm damage after treating and repairing it. You have restored my faith in humanity. My advice for selling it after fixing and restoring it would be to just explain what was found and how you fixed the problem. I very much enjoy your channel, and you! ❤
I love that you show the realities of furniture flipping. It’s not all peacefully painting for an hour or two then sell for a crazy profit. It’s tedious, dirty work that we do to make these pieces beautiful again. Thanks so much for being honest 💕
The wormwood one… just use the product your friend sent you a picture of and then fill the holes with wood putty and sand when dry. I’ve seen it done on other channels, it works.
I really appreciate you sharing the “flops.” I watch a lot of European furniture restorers & woodworm damage is VERY common. The first t😅me I saw it, I too was alarmed. However, I would try to use it as a selling point should you decide to refinish. Alternatively, you can use wood putty to fill all of the holes of you are doing some sort of paint, etc. Once you treat the piece, it is no longer infected, and as long as you repair any weakened wood (that one rotten section), it’s no different than any other damage. Truly love your integrity and learned from this video as well as the ones you “complete.” ❤
i've had many a wood piece with worm holes. I like them. It shows that the piece is old and it give it extra patina. Once you cover the piece with paint or varnish, the worms are history. They're probably long gone anyway.
I would buy it BECAUSE it has worm holes. That means it's from Europe. I would treat it with the solution and leave the holes as is. Don't do a color wash, just do an oil that doesn't yellow the pine and you're good. It's a darling piece! Love your channel.
You can safely remove lead paint by using a chemical stripper. Yes it’s a little more time consuming but worth it if you are trying to save a piece from the landfill.
I agree. Lead paint becomes a real problem if paint starts to flake off where it can be ingested or inhaled. As long as the lead paint is completely removed and the piece is stained or repainted with paint and primer it would be fine.
Those are from wood worms. You can buy a treatment that brushes on to kill any active worms. Then, if the wood is strong just fill in the holes. If the wood is spongy you can add a product to harden it. Not too far gone.
Wood worm is very common in the US. It’s simple to treat. Often it’s old and the beetles are long gone. You don’t say anything in your ad. It’s antique. As long as it’s not active bugs it’s fine.
Hi Lisa. So sorry that you had a bit of a rough time this week. With the little dresser, as soon as I saw the bottom I thought 'woodworm', but then I live in the UK and it's a common problem here. Even beams in old buildings such as churches get it and you can imagine what a nightmare that is. Glad you sold the Brutalist piece and here's hoping for a better result next time.
Very similar to my "Italian Provincial" by Basset bedroom set that's about 60 yrs old now, but my dresser has a "plastic/wood imitation/formica-like" dark top. I still love the style. I misplaced the lovely and irreplaceable handled years ago-- they were great. 😢
What a week! So glad you had a bright side to it at least. Congrats on the sale. For the worm wood one, if you think it’s worth your time to keep working on it, it is still a really beautiful little dresser. I imagine you would have to sell it at a discount since not everyone would be aware of the commonality of them, so you might just want to go ahead and resell it as is for someone who would want to refinish it instead.
Love your videos Lisa! So much info. I am glad to hear about “uship”. Also, it’s so nice to hear your profit breakdown. Very interesting. I would not worry about those old wood worm holes. Very prevalent in many of the videos I watch. Not sure I’d even say anything unless asked. If asked , you can say old damage with no activity and treated. 🤔🤷♀️. If I was the buyer it would not affect the sale in any way.
WD 40 on rusty screws works great. File the screw that was smashed and it will come off you'll most likely have to file the bolt too. To see if the worms are still alive put the dresser in a large box tray and watch it for a couple months if you see sawdust anywhere they are still alive. I watch a sculptor who carved a beautiful sculpture and the client kept seeing sawdust on the floor, he sent the carving back the to the sculptor and it took him forever to get rid of the worms, still not 100% sure they are gone. Make yourself a list of what to check for when you go and pick up a piece. I have to do this, people are so friendly I get to talking and forget to check. Sorry for such a bummer week, it will get better, you're doing great!!!!
Sorry you had such a scrappy week, but thank you for showing the flops. We all learn from them. "Flop #2" looks like chestnut wood to me. During the "Mail Order Golden Oak Era" (see the Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs from the 1890s and early 1900s), oak began to get scarce, so furniture manufacturers bought elm, hickory, and chestnut because the grains were similar. Slap a coat of dark varnish on the wood (or expose it to ammonia fumes), and who could tell the difference? Elm and chestnut trees experienced a nationwide blight, which was a boon to manufacturers because the could get the wood cheaper. Remember the term "wormy chestnut?" I think that's what you have, and the holes are very old. Additionally, that bigger, corner area of damage looks more like termites chewed on it. Wood worms don't leave that sort of damage.That little chest looks like someone has attempted to refinish it before it got to you. If that's the case, the chemicals killed off worms and termites a while back. I have a 19th century grain-painted mule chest from central Europe, and the first time I saw the wood worm holes in the unpainted parts, they scared me. I had to do some research to reassure myself that my house wasn't going to be infested. The wood beetle lays eggs in the cracks of raw wood, and the larvae eat their way out. The holes are evidence that the bugs have left. Varnish and wax are good deterrents!
Boy, that yellow piece as a disappointment from the beginning. I've seen worm-damaged pieces redone. As long as you disclose, it shouldn't be a problem I know you would fix the damage and whether you painted or stained, the outcome would be beautiful. I think those Eastlake (or similar) little dressers are pretty popular. I know I would love to have one--if I had a place to put it! Hope the next projects are more fulfilling, and congrats on the sale of the Brutalist piece. I'm so intrigued by that furniture style!
What a week! So glad you had a bright side to it at least. Congrats on the sale. For the worm wood one, if you think it’s worth your time to keep working on it, it is still a really beautiful little dresser. I imagine you would have to sell it at a discount, so you might just want to go ahead and resell it as is for someone who would want to refinish it instead.
May sound like a stupid question. Completely unrelated to furniture. How do you keep such nice nails. lol mine are GONE from sanding and everything that you have to do to furniture. I admire you so much. I’ve learned soo much from you. Just wondering
on the screw that broke off, if you want to keep that piece of hardware on the front of the screw (i would, who wouldn't?) i would try to see if i could find another piece of straight threaded rod or screw that exactly matches it in diameter and pitch. your local hardware store should be able to help with that. then also you'll need a coupler of some kind. you will want to thread the coupler all the way onto the existing rusted broken piece, then cut that piece a little shorter in the appropriate spot. now, when you run the coupler piece off the thread, it will "fix" any thread that wasn't perfectly cut by you. now you can thread on the newly purchased threaded screw and hide the coupler inside the drawer (or inside whatever piece it came out of). feel free to DM me if this isn't clear.
The wormwood isn’t a big deal, just treat it (even though they’re definitely not there anymore) and restore it as usual. Besides, the holes are not on the top part and it’s an antique anyway you want it to have character if it looks like brand new no one‘s gonna want it. Every piece should tell a story and that one has a good one, it made it. As far as disclosing it goes I wouldn’t even bother. It’s just another repair the same as if you fixed a crack across the top you don’t tell people there was once a crack there you just fix it and go on. They like the end product and that’s all that matters.
Woodworm is very common here in New Zealand and it’s considered really important to disclose its presence, even when inactive, when selling. Most people are well-aware of it and won’t not buy a piece, but it’s super-important they know to keep an eye on it for any return. I’d be *really* ticked off to discover it hadn’t been disclosed at sale, treatments are never 100% guaranteed, and you really really don’t want it in your house! It looks like old damage on your piece and it’d be a shame to not refinish it because of a little bit of woodworm.
I understand you don’t want to sand the lead paint dresser, but why don’t u strip it instead? U can then completely seal it with shellac or something similarly’ then paint it…I’ve seen heaps of people do exactly that! As for the wood worm piece, u simply apply that wood worm product over it & then you apply a wood hardener over it & it totally strengthens all the wood pieces including all the wood worm damage. I then bondo any of the chunks that are missing & sand that back & re-shape it as it should be. After that there’s a filler that u can get that fills in all the little wood worm holes & when dry u sand it. After that do a combo of staining & painting! Look at the furniture flippers in Europe & the UK, they have experience in dealing with this. In particular restorers from Romania, Germany and parts of Eastern Europe. I asked a restorer that I watch in Europe & he sent me this link to a piece that he did that had a lot of worm holes & how he dealt with it, hope it helps ua-cam.com/video/NtZRTnwZoGo/v-deo.htmlsi=UNFC3u7O9QCS09S2 As for how you’d describe it…what do you say if you’ve fixed problems with bondo? The reality is that the woodworms are dead & there’s no activity, you’ve treated the wood with a hardener & you’ve filled any imperfections. There’s no difference between using bondo on a corner or other places that are missing original wood or replacing areas of water damaged wood!
I’ve just got to say that I really love how you handled the two flops in the video. I used to watch another flipper and in one video the whole project led up to a surprise that she didn’t show at the end and when people expressed their displeasure she was very flippant. I find myself moving away from that sort of youtube personality and I’m so grateful for your genuineness and how you show the reality of furniture flipping.
Thanks for the feedback! This was definitely a disappointment to me, but it is a reality so I guess it does show that side as well. 😊🙌🏼
You are so honest and ethical. I don't think most sellers would disclose the wood worm damage after treating and repairing it. You have restored my faith in humanity. My advice for selling it after fixing and restoring it would be to just explain what was found and how you fixed the problem. I very much enjoy your channel, and you! ❤
I love that you show the realities of furniture flipping. It’s not all peacefully painting for an hour or two then sell for a crazy profit. It’s tedious, dirty work that we do to make these pieces beautiful again. Thanks so much for being honest 💕
The wormwood one… just use the product your friend sent you a picture of and then fill the holes with wood putty and sand when dry.
I’ve seen it done on other channels, it works.
I really appreciate you sharing the “flops.” I watch a lot of European furniture restorers & woodworm damage is VERY common. The first t😅me I saw it, I too was alarmed. However, I would try to use it as a selling point should you decide to refinish. Alternatively, you can use wood putty to fill all of the holes of you are doing some sort of paint, etc. Once you treat the piece, it is no longer infected, and as long as you repair any weakened wood (that one rotten section), it’s no different than any other damage. Truly love your integrity and learned from this video as well as the ones you “complete.” ❤
i've had many a wood piece with worm holes. I like them. It shows that the piece is old and it give it extra patina. Once you cover the piece with paint or varnish, the worms are history. They're probably long gone anyway.
Wood worm made the holes. There is a product you can apply to make the existing wood harder and more stable. I saw it used in England
I would buy it BECAUSE it has worm holes. That means it's from Europe. I would treat it with the solution and leave the holes as is. Don't do a color wash, just do an oil that doesn't yellow the pine and you're good. It's a darling piece! Love your channel.
Worm wood. There’s a chemical you can use. Other restores use it
The wormwood can be treated and move on with the restore. It can be done with no need to disclose. Just restore and it is good to go.
You can safely remove lead paint by using a chemical stripper. Yes it’s a little more time consuming but worth it if you are trying to save a piece from the landfill.
I agree. Lead paint becomes a real problem if paint starts to flake off where it can be ingested or inhaled. As long as the lead paint is completely removed and the piece is stained or repainted with paint and primer it would be fine.
Those are from wood worms. You can buy a treatment that brushes on to kill any active worms. Then, if the wood is strong just fill in the holes. If the wood is spongy you can add a product to harden it. Not too far gone.
I just love your attitude so much! 😂❤
Wood worm is very common in the US. It’s simple to treat. Often it’s old and the beetles are long gone. You don’t say anything in your ad. It’s antique. As long as it’s not active bugs it’s fine.
Hi Lisa. So sorry that you had a bit of a rough time this week. With the little dresser, as soon as I saw the bottom I thought 'woodworm', but then I live in the UK and it's a common problem here. Even beams in old buildings such as churches get it and you can imagine what a nightmare that is. Glad you sold the Brutalist piece and here's hoping for a better result next time.
Very similar to my "Italian Provincial" by Basset bedroom set that's about 60 yrs old now, but my dresser has a "plastic/wood imitation/formica-like" dark top. I still love the style. I misplaced the lovely and irreplaceable handled years ago-- they were great. 😢
What a week! So glad you had a bright side to it at least. Congrats on the sale.
For the worm wood one, if you think it’s worth your time to keep working on it, it is still a really beautiful little dresser. I imagine you would have to sell it at a discount since not everyone would be aware of the commonality of them, so you might just want to go ahead and resell it as is for someone who would want to refinish it instead.
I have a dremel and use a metal bit they use for them and sand off the end of the screw that is mushroomed.
The holes are woodworm. It’s treatable
Well that was a bummer for you. I still like that you tell it like it is. I agree on the first piece, I would have done the same thing.
Love your videos Lisa! So much info. I am glad to hear about “uship”. Also, it’s so nice to hear your profit breakdown. Very interesting. I would not worry about those old wood worm holes. Very prevalent in many of the videos I watch. Not sure I’d even say anything unless asked. If asked , you can say old damage with no activity and treated. 🤔🤷♀️. If I was the buyer it would not affect the sale in any way.
WD 40 on rusty screws works great. File the screw that was smashed and it will come off you'll most likely have to file the bolt too. To see if the worms are still alive put the dresser in a large box tray and watch it for a couple months if you see sawdust anywhere they are still alive. I watch a sculptor who carved a beautiful sculpture and the client kept seeing sawdust on the floor, he sent the carving back the to the sculptor and it took him forever to get rid of the worms, still not 100% sure they are gone. Make yourself a list of what to check for when you go and pick up a piece. I have to do this, people are so friendly I get to talking and forget to check. Sorry for such a bummer week, it will get better, you're doing great!!!!
Sorry you had such a scrappy week, but thank you for showing the flops. We all learn from them.
"Flop #2" looks like chestnut wood to me. During the "Mail Order Golden Oak Era" (see the Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs from the 1890s and early 1900s), oak began to get scarce, so furniture manufacturers bought elm, hickory, and chestnut because the grains were similar. Slap a coat of dark varnish on the wood (or expose it to ammonia fumes), and who could tell the difference? Elm and chestnut trees experienced a nationwide blight, which was a boon to manufacturers because the could get the wood cheaper. Remember the term "wormy chestnut?" I think that's what you have, and the holes are very old.
Additionally, that bigger, corner area of damage looks more like termites chewed on it. Wood worms don't leave that sort of damage.That little chest looks like someone has attempted to refinish it before it got to you. If that's the case, the chemicals killed off worms and termites a while back.
I have a 19th century grain-painted mule chest from central Europe, and the first time I saw the wood worm holes in the unpainted parts, they scared me. I had to do some research to reassure myself that my house wasn't going to be infested. The wood beetle lays eggs in the cracks of raw wood, and the larvae eat their way out. The holes are evidence that the bugs have left. Varnish and wax are good deterrents!
Boy, that yellow piece as a disappointment from the beginning. I've seen worm-damaged pieces redone. As long as you disclose, it shouldn't be a problem I know you would fix the damage and whether you painted or stained, the outcome would be beautiful. I think those Eastlake (or similar) little dressers are pretty popular. I know I would love to have one--if I had a place to put it! Hope the next projects are more fulfilling, and congrats on the sale of the Brutalist piece. I'm so intrigued by that furniture style!
Very smart to dump the lead paint dresser
I think so too! It could have been beautiful, but it’s just not worth it 😷
What a week! So glad you had a bright side to it at least. Congrats on the sale.
For the worm wood one, if you think it’s worth your time to keep working on it, it is still a really beautiful little dresser. I imagine you would have to sell it at a discount, so you might just want to go ahead and resell it as is for someone who would want to refinish it instead.
May sound like a stupid question. Completely unrelated to furniture. How do you keep such nice nails. lol mine are GONE from sanding and everything that you have to do to furniture. I admire you so much. I’ve learned soo much from you. Just wondering
on the screw that broke off, if you want to keep that piece of hardware on the front of the screw (i would, who wouldn't?) i would try to see if i could find another piece of straight threaded rod or screw that exactly matches it in diameter and pitch. your local hardware store should be able to help with that. then also you'll need a coupler of some kind. you will want to thread the coupler all the way onto the existing rusted broken piece, then cut that piece a little shorter in the appropriate spot. now, when you run the coupler piece off the thread, it will "fix" any thread that wasn't perfectly cut by you. now you can thread on the newly purchased threaded screw and hide the coupler inside the drawer (or inside whatever piece it came out of). feel free to DM me if this isn't clear.
As old as that damage is I think you would have been fine even without treatment but as a resale project it would be safer to treat the wood.
That’s what I was thinking too 😊🙌🏼
Awe that’s a bummer 😔
Don't throw it away. All can be repaired.
😢 Sorry you had a double flop. Better days are ahead 😊.
Looks worm holes. Thanks for sharing this video, it was educational
The wormwood isn’t a big deal, just treat it (even though they’re definitely not there anymore) and restore it as usual. Besides, the holes are not on the top part and it’s an antique anyway you want it to have character if it looks like brand new no one‘s gonna want it. Every piece should tell a story and that one has a good one, it made it. As far as disclosing it goes I wouldn’t even bother. It’s just another repair the same as if you fixed a crack across the top you don’t tell people there was once a crack there you just fix it and go on. They like the end product and that’s all that matters.
But how much did you pay for uship? Or did the customer pay that?
I forgot to mention that. Uship was $300 and the customer paid that fee. She sent me $1500 via my business Venmo to cover the cost.
Treat it for woodworms and disclose that it has inactive woodworm that has been treated. This is not uncommon in old peices even in the states.
I’d fix it and work on it.
Woodworm is very common here in New Zealand and it’s considered really important to disclose its presence, even when inactive, when selling. Most people are well-aware of it and won’t not buy a piece, but it’s super-important they know to keep an eye on it for any return. I’d be *really* ticked off to discover it hadn’t been disclosed at sale, treatments are never 100% guaranteed, and you really really don’t want it in your house! It looks like old damage on your piece and it’d be a shame to not refinish it because of a little bit of woodworm.
Wood worms? I would continue working on the little pieces.
I understand you don’t want to sand the lead paint dresser, but why don’t u strip it instead? U can then completely seal it with shellac or something similarly’ then paint it…I’ve seen heaps of people do exactly that!
As for the wood worm piece, u simply apply that wood worm product over it & then you apply a wood hardener over it & it totally strengthens all the wood pieces including all the wood worm damage. I then bondo any of the chunks that are missing & sand that back & re-shape it as it should be. After that there’s a filler that u can get that fills in all the little wood worm holes & when dry u sand it. After that do a combo of staining & painting!
Look at the furniture flippers in Europe & the UK, they have experience in dealing with this. In particular restorers from Romania, Germany and parts of Eastern Europe.
I asked a restorer that I watch in Europe & he sent me this link to a piece that he did that had a lot of worm holes & how he dealt with it, hope it helps
ua-cam.com/video/NtZRTnwZoGo/v-deo.htmlsi=UNFC3u7O9QCS09S2
As for how you’d describe it…what do you say if you’ve fixed problems with bondo?
The reality is that the woodworms are dead & there’s no activity, you’ve treated the wood with a hardener & you’ve filled any imperfections. There’s no difference between using bondo on a corner or other places that are missing original wood or replacing areas of water damaged wood!