Chest of Drawers

[happyman]

I have inherited an old family chest of drawers but living in an old cottage the stairs are too small to get upstairs.
I see it's basically glued together.

Advice please ... If I gently warm up the glued joints would the glue soften?

Or do I remove an upstairs window?

 

[niall Y]

I have inherited an old family chest of drawers but living in an old cottage the stairs are too small to get upstairs.
I see it's basically glued together.

Advice please ... If I gently warm up the glued joints would the glue soften?

Or do I remove an upstairs window?

 

[niall Y]

Is it on a plinth of any sort? and could that plinth be removed ? On some old Victorian/Edwardian chests they can be screwed to the carcase.
When we moved into our present property, I had to cut an inch off the plinth on a mahogany chest of drawers, just to get it up the stairs and into the bedroom.

And we had further problems, when the mattress on our double bed was replaced. The old one easily came down the stairs, but the new ,firmer one, had to be bound with webbing clamps, and tortured into a curve ,to get it to fit up there.

Regarding passing it in through an upstairs window, This seems to be a feature allowed for in lots of old cottages. I once made some windows for a cottage in Norfolk, which comprised three sashes fixed side by side in a frame. The central sash was screwed in place, with the outside ones hinged, and rebated, to close against matching rebates in this central sash. The purpose of this design ,was to allow furniture to enter through the window, when the central sash was unscrewed. Some of the neighbouring cottages , had even wider windows, with greater numbers of removeable sashes, which would have easily allowed for a double bed to pass through.

 

[Jacob]

I have inherited an old family chest of drawers but living in an old cottage the stairs are too small to get upstairs.
I see it's basically glued together.

Advice please ... If I gently warm up the glued joints would the glue soften?

No

Or do I remove an upstairs window?

Perhaps. Measure it?
Can be surprising what you can get up stairs with a bit of dodging and weaving. Is it worth just having a go?

 

[robgul]

No

Perhaps. Measure it?
Can be surprising what you can get up stairs with a bit of dodging and weaving. Is it worth just having a go?

Yep - I have been stunned a couple of times with furniture which was in situ before some building alterations that looked as if they would hinder removal - the professional removal men took each item out at some speed with no problem at all

 

[happyman]

Tried three ways to get it upstairs.
The bottom drawer goes to floor level so includes the plinth timber along the front of the drawer.
So looking at dismantling the frame

 

[Bingy man]

To echo the above replies I’d try anything and everything before taking the bookcase apart or removing a window ( last resort) remove the door/ part of frame , any handrail etc . Are you attempting this on your own or with help - four hands being better than 2 .

 

[Inspector]

I have inherited an old family chest of drawers but living in an old cottage the stairs are too small to get upstairs.
I see it's basically glued together.

Advice please ... If I gently warm up the glued joints would the glue soften?

Or do I remove an upstairs window?

It was likely glued with hide glue and will succumb to hot water and vinegar. Drilling a tiny hole where it doesn't show (inside) in the joint and squirting the hot mixture in with a syringe helps. You'll have to clean up the old glue when apart and let the wood dry before gluing back together.

So if you do take it apart and get it upstairs will you ever need to take it out of the house again? Furniture won't be too happy doing that too often. If you may take it apart aging use hide glue again as everything else is harder to take apart. Any chance you can use it on the main floor somewhere like the dining room for linens and cutlery? Or sit a TV on it?

Pete

 

[Sgian Dubh]

You'll have to clean up the old glue when apart and let the wood dry before gluing back together.

So if you do take it apart and get it upstairs will you ever need to take it out of the house again? Furniture won't be too happy doing that too often.

My thoughts are that the piece won't like being taken apart and reassembled even once, never mind more often. As you suggested, I suspect the best solution is to find somewhere to use it that doesn't involve any disassembly of either the chest or the building. Slainte.