Someone restoring a 1915 house in Raleigh's Oakwood does not want an old door. They want a five-panel door, 32 inches wide, hinged on the left, with a mortise lock pocket their own hardware will fit. If the listing does not say so, they scroll past. That is why so much good salvage sits: it was listed in a hurry, or never listed at all.
We measure every door, window and mantel ourselves: height, width and thickness and swing for doors; sash size and glass for windows; overall size, firebox opening and shelf height for mantels. We note the wood where we can tell it, the number of panels or lites, whether the glass is original wavy glass or a later replacement, and what hardware is still with the piece. Then we photograph both faces and the edges, because buyers look at the edges.
Paint on anything built before 1978 may contain lead. Every listing for a painted piece of that age says so. We never sand or strip anything ourselves, and we recommend buyers have it done by someone set up for lead-safe work.
If the hardware is original to a door, we usually keep the two together, because a door with its own knobs and hinges sells for more than either does apart. Loose hardware goes in its own lots and ships nationwide on eBay, instead of being tied to a door that can only be collected. Doors, windows and mantels sell to buyers within driving distance or to buyers who arrange their own freight.
Matching sets are worth more than singles. Eight identical interior doors from one house can finish a whole restoration, so we keep sets together and list a single on its own only when it stands up by itself. We work across North Carolina from Charlotte, including the Triangle, the Triad, and Asheville and the mountains.
What the family receives.
- ✓A free walkthrough of wherever the pieces are stored
- ✓A written quote before any work starts
- ✓Every piece measured: size, thickness, swing, panels or lites, glass and hardware
- ✓Photographs of both faces and the edges, taken where the piece sits
- ✓A lead-paint notice on every painted piece built before 1978
- ✓Big pieces listed for local pickup, hardware listed to ship
- ✓Payment confirmed before every pickup
Why VaultXL.
Measured the way restorers shop
Buyers search by width, swing and panel count. Every listing leads with those, so the people who can use a piece find it.
Sets and original hardware kept together
We break up a set or strip a door's own hardware only when the parts are clearly worth more apart. Most of the time they are not.
Sold from where it is stored
A barn in Iredell County, a garage in Cary, a contractor's warehouse in Asheville. The pieces stay put until a paid buyer collects them.
One inventory, every channel
A door listed in several places comes down from all of them the moment it sells, so no buyer drives out for something already gone.
Where we serve.
Charlotte · Mooresville · Statesville · Cary · Raleigh · Durham · Wake Forest · Greensboro · Winston-Salem · Asheville · Black Mountain · Waynesville · the rest of North Carolina by arrangement
Start with a walkthrough.
A free walkthrough in your home, then a written quote before any work starts.
Frequently asked.
It depends on the wood, age, panel count, glass, size and condition, and on whether it comes as part of a matched set or with its original hardware. Standard widths sell faster because they fit an existing opening without reframing. We price against completed sales of comparable doors, not hopeful asking prices, and you approve every price.
Yes. We list the sash size, the condition of the lead came and any cracked or replaced panes. Windows still in a building are priced in place but listed once they have been removed. For church windows, see our church furnishings page.
Yes, with the firebox opening, shelf height and overall size measured. A mantel that still has its overmantel mirror or original tile surround is usually worth more listed together than apart.
Yes. If you have taken old doors or windows out of your own house, or found a stack of them in a barn, the process is the same: a walkthrough, a written quote, and we sell them from where they are.
No. Leave it as it is. Many buyers want original paint and patina, and stripping old paint has to be done carefully because of lead. We list each piece honestly as found.
Statewide, from Charlotte. We regularly cover the Charlotte region, the Triangle, the Triad, and Asheville and the mountains, and the rest of the state by arrangement. Travel is included in the written quote.
Every project is quoted in writing after a free walkthrough: a non-refundable setup fee set in your quote, and 15% of what sells after marketplace fees. You keep 85%.
Browse what we have listed now at the VaultXL Shop: antiques from Carolina estates, home decor and lighting and estate furniture for sale in Charlotte.
