Your woodwork shouldn’t look its age.
The doors, staircases, cabinets, and built-ins in your home are worth restoring — not replacing. Sue Wheeler has been doing it right in St. Louis for 36 years. When you call, she answers.
The right way to refinish architectural wood.
There’s a shortcut in this industry — a chemical dip tank that strips a door or cabinet in minutes. It raises the wood grain, softens the profiles, loosens the glue joints, and washes out the stain. The result looks flat. It doesn’t last.
We don’t dip.
Wood Refinishing by Sue Wheeler hand-strips every piece — by hand, with the right chemistry, the right tools, and 36 years of knowing the difference. It takes longer. It costs more to do it this way. The wood lasts decades instead of years.
That’s the choice you’re making when you call us.
What we refinish.
We work on architectural woodwork — the pieces built into a home or building that define its character. Not furniture. Not floors. The elements that came with the structure and can’t be replaced without losing something real.
Kitchen Cabinets
Painted, stained, or color-change. Hand-stripped back to bare wood and finished right.
Learn moreDoors & Frames
Front doors, interior doors, French doors, pocket doors. In shop or on-prem.
Learn moreStaircases & Railings
Treads, risers, spindles, newel posts, railings — the full scope, done properly.
Learn moreArchitectural Woodwork
Built-ins, hutches, mantels, crown molding, wainscoting, chair rail — the millwork that defines the room.
Learn morePerk Up & Protect
Sound finish, dull appearance? A maintenance coat restores the look without a full strip. Sue determines which you need.
Learn moreEPA Certified Lead Removal.
89.8% of homes in St. Louis City were built before 1978. That means lead paint — in the doors, the trim, the cabinets, the staircase railings. Work done without EPA certification on those surfaces isn’t just sloppy. It’s a legal and health risk.
Sue Wheeler is an EPA Certified Lead Removal. Every project on a pre-1978 home is handled with full lead-safe protocols, documented and compliant. You don’t have to ask whether it’s being done right.
What EPA certification means for your homeWhat St. Louis homeowners say.
“We were terrified someone would ruin the original staircase. Sue walked us through every step. The result is better than we could have imagined — and it looks exactly like it did in 1912.”— Homeowner, Central West End
“We were quoted $40,000 for new cabinets. Sue refinished the originals for a fraction of that and they look brand new. I wish we'd called her five years ago.”— Homeowner, Benton Park
“Sue answered the phone herself, came out within two days, and the door was back on its hinges looking incredible inside of a week. That's just not how contractors work — except her.”— Homeowner, Lafayette Square
36 years. One city. One owner.
Sue Wheeler started refinishing wood in St. Louis in 1989. Since then, she has worked in the Central West End, Benton Park, Compton Heights, Lafayette Square, Shaw, Clayton, and dozens of neighborhoods across the city and inner-ring suburbs.
She has never dipped a door.
When you call Wood Refinishing by Sue Wheeler, Sue Wheeler answers. She will ask you the right questions, tell you what the work actually involves, and give you an honest estimate. No call centers. No project managers. No surprises.
Serving the neighborhoods where the woodwork is worth it.
We specialize in St. Louis City and the inner-ring suburbs — the neighborhoods with pre-war homes, original old-growth millwork, and woodwork that repays proper restoration.
Ready to talk about your wood?
Free estimates. No obligation. Sue answers every call personally.