Frequently Asked Questions

The furniture you own, just inherited, or are thinking about refinishing or repairing is an important part of history. It's probably made of better material (real woods and wood veneers) and was crafted to be durable and serviceable for many years. If you have bought new furniture in the last 20 years you have seen this is usually not the case. Most new furniture is made from ground paper and wood pulp with an ever thinning wood veneer and construction techniques that are questionable at best. Use of plastics is at an all time high. Although newer furniture is somewhat serviceable it can be more expensive to repair than your older quality constructed pieces. Good refinishing brings back vibrant original colors and showcases the wood under modern more durable coatings that offer beauty and protection. Quality structural and cosmetic repair can economically put a piece back in service that may have been otherwise discarded. Restoring makes since environmentally too since the furniture restoration process uses less than 10% of the energy and natural resources that are required in new manufacturing. Sound interesting??? Find out more about our exclusive services, restoration process, and FREE ESTIMATES.

If you are shopping for these restortation and conservation services you'll find few companies that have both an A+ rating with the Columbus Better Business Bureau and a top rating with Angies' List. You will also find us listed with The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works as Wooden Artifact Specialists. Our ability to do conservation work means we have a higher skill set and more information to help us with your project.

Free insurance estimates by e-mail???..... This type of estimate can only be done by us in-person and we do charge a fee for it because of the extra paperwork and pictures which must be submitted by us. We do rebate 100% of that fee if any of the work we have quoted is done within a 12 month period

That’s easy! We are members in good standing with our own area’s New Albany Chamber of Commerce. We'll be going into our 30th year of service with an A+ from the Columbus Better Business Bureau. You'll also find that we have top ratings with the popular Angie's List. References are available also upon request.

All of the management team has not only had thousands of hours of hands-on training but also many hours of business restoration management training as well. Many people have even apprenticed with us over the last 24 years to learn our methods. The customer is assured that we not only know our craft but can successfully complete their furniture on time and within budget. Your biggest advantage in having us do your work is our extensive customer base. Furniture Physicians current customer base is over 10000 strong just here in central Ohio. People know us and trust us with their furniture, becoming long term customers that use our services again and again.

If you need only stripping 2 days to a 1 week is our normal time frame. If that same item also needs repair work and refinishing a total of 2 to 3 weeks is needed. Special considerations can be given to “rush” jobs, just ask!

Although good refinishing is not inexpensive it usually costs 1/4 to 1/2 of the money you would spend for comparable new quality furniture. Keep in mind you may not even find comparable quality in new furniture!!! Quality spot-repair and touch-up can cost less than refinishing, giving you even more value. For local central Ohio residents you can just go to our Interactive Restoration Form on this website. Fill out the form and we will provide you with background and more importantly cost information on restoring your furniture! Due to the volume of these forms we receive please allow 1 to 3 days for our replies. A real craftsperson answers these forms personally for you!

Veneered surfaces are thin layers (1/8 to1/64 inch thick) of decorative patterns applied over a substrate (usually solid wood in older furniture). The furniture builder can get patterns in the wood that just don't occur in solid lumbers. While some newer furniture is done this way for economy it used to be done to achieve these beautiful effects just not seen in solid woods. Did someone tell you that veneered furniture can't be restored??? What a shame, since about 60% of the furniture we do is veneered. Loose veneers can be reglued, missing pieces filled and "faux finished" to match, etc. Don't let an uninformed person lead you to believe that veneers cannot be restored. We know how to handle veneered furniture.

Call us!!! It all begins with a phone call. Your description of the items can tell us relative age and many times style of pieces. If you are in the central Ohio or surrounding areas we can follow up with a free in-home estimate or if you are out-of-state photographs and dimensions of the pieces will give us an idea of what you have. We are a quality operation and always prefer to work on good quality furniture. Restoration of poor quality furniture is of no value to anyone. Phone (614)855-9720

This is a new term to most consumers but nothing new to quality restoration shops. We have always offered this service when a piece can and should be done this way. Refurbishment usually consists of cleaning the existing finish, minor touch-up of nicks, scratches, gouges etc., and the application of a few more thin layers of new matching coating. We would like to stress that it is the condition of the piece itself which dictates if this process can be done. Many coatings have lost so much of their original ingredients as well as evidence of more severe types of damage to the wood can easily prevent this type of restoration. We can however do some testing on your furniture which will tell us if this is a possible treatment. We have seen many examples of poor refurbishment over the years which seriously damages the value of the pieces.

Don’t send them out! Our in-home and on-site division (Darrel Kestner Restorations) can do them right in your building even after hours or on weekends. You can be ready to use them the next day! Just leave a message for Mr. Kestner at (614)855-9720.

Sure! Because older furniture was built right in the first place, we can take “ your basket case” and re-polish the hardware, re-glue the frame (permanently this time), and actually re-cast the old carvings using bits and pieces of the existing carvings. Add our great stripping and refinishing processes and you’ll own fine furniture again!