This is a Busy Shop! These guys are great. My wife and I wandered in this afternoon to get some replacement knobs and spindles and grub screws for our 1796 farmhouse in Pelham, NH. Hmmm. "Wandered in" probably isn't the right term. Rather, we planned a trip down for when we would be in Boston. The other reviewers mentioned a room full of categorized drawers and I'll back that up: black knobs, brass knobs, rosettes, etc. A gentleman who was applying new window putty to old window frames pointed us towards the room and we spent an hour digging through the drawers and assembled 3 sets of knobs. We are so grateful that places like this still exist -where if you are willing to do some legwork, you can find old hardware, appropriate for old houses. We've looked online and unless I am missing something, there an isn't an Amazon or Home Depot of this world. Nobody is going to clean off old hardware, stage it over a white background, properly light it to make sure the camera doesn't show up in the picture, research what period it came from and post a description for it. It would be cost prohibitive to buy from a place like that. But this place is the next best thing. Go into the room, get your hands dirty and experience the thrill of the hunt! There were 6 workers in this immediate space that we observed while we were waiting to check out/browsing to see what else we could find. They were all friendly, but super busy. Since I wasn't there for window or other services, I can't comment on their scheduling or invoicing as others have. An observation though: perhaps we have to adjust our expectations a bit. Reading the other reviews shows what I would describe as a system problem. These houses that these windows and other trim came out of are not cookie cutter where the same windows were installed on every wall. Rather, these represent a smorgasbord of choices. Often, it is the homeowner that is trying to preserve something about the character of something that is no longer available to buy. Not only that, but have you tried to find a contractor that provides this service for you? Time has forgotten those craftsman in the wild, instead, shops like this one exist that collect knobs and spindles and craftspeople all together in special places like this one. One only needs to wander in to remember. Sort through and find what you are looking for. Have the patience to find success. And recognize that this is perhaps the answer to a system problem. You are going to spend a little more time and a little more money than you want to buy that's ok. It's your choice to preserve something that everyone else has forgotten. Remember why you came. You will be grateful you did. read more

Assholes, just expect to pay double the quote. After they stripped my doors I was called telling me they wanted $800 more than what I was originally quoted. Then they called me AFTER doors were hung and on my front door asking for $400 more. A total of $1200 more than original quote, Thats not including glass, hardware, etc. ( another 2k) My doors were more than double what I was thinking they would be. They came out great but I would never recommend/use these guys again. I felt as if I was a scammed. Shop around they are not honest. read more

I'd give their workmanship 5 stars but their customer service 3. Splitting the difference by giving 4 stars. We had our 130+ yo front door rehabbed and painted by them. They gave us a verbal quote that vaguely covered repairs and refinishing, pick up and delivery. But a $1200 job became a $1700 job and 2 weeks became 4. Many of the add-ons could have been anticipated initially and they lost track of our order slip (but blamed waiting on me first), costing us 2 weeks. They tried to expedite the job after they tracked it down to make it right, but we got conflicting stories over the phone and weren't given much for guidance on decisions like removing old weather stripping and new hardware. The door came back excellent- you really could never tell how old it is and how beat up it was- with many compliments from our contractor and his team. But I would hesitate to use them again, mainly because of their billing/pricing system. read more

Are you a renter like me and can't stand the laughable security of the cheap particleboard doors in your apartment? Did you get drunk and break a cool glass doorknob with your teeth when you passed out waiting in line for the bathroom at someone's party? Maybe you're a homeowner and got a little overzealous with your golf putt, taking out a panel of stained glass, loser. Doors, knobs, windows--where do you go? Tucked on an industrial service road between Andrew and JFK T stations is Olde Bostonian, a small building that sells antique doors, windows, marble mantles, tubs, and hutches of all shapes, sizes, and ages. These items brag tasteful finishings of yesteryear--the kind of flourishes you just don't see in this day and age of "make it quick and cheap." My favorites were rusty, tarnished, and tiny mail slots on some of the doors. In one corner there's an old wooden phone booth sans phone. Some windows are broken on the older frames, but fortunately Olde Bostonian deals in window restoration as well. I was interested in replacing a glass doorknob (no, not for the reason above), so I asked the lone shopkeeper if they had any. He directed me to a room on the side and turned the lights on. Here I found a wall of labeled drawers with glass, metal, and wooden knobs, in addition to drawer pulls, faucet heads, porcelain tap turners, tiles, and many other odds and ends, all meticulously organized. Since I did not end up making a purchase, I never discovered their pricing system (to my knowledge, no pieces were marked with a price). Having been to several architectural salvage stores, I was really taken with how organized this place was. So if you're looking to add a touch of class to your basement hovel, or trying to restore the natural beauty or your 1920s house that was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 70s, stop by for a peek into the past. read more

By far the most unprofessional people I've ever dealt with. Arrogant, late showing up, they don't return phone calls so I decided they weren't worth doing business with. read more

I had six, large, one-over-one,130+-year-old windows restored by Olde Bostonian and am very satisfied with the removal, re-install and the results. I also visited their workshop and found everyone to be helpful and the management to be responsive when I needed to commnicate with them. The windows look like new, are much more weather-tight and travel smoothly in the frames. The cost was reasonable, based on other quotes I got. It's 4 stars and not 5 because 1) they broke and replaced most of the old, wavy glass (their "standard terms" say they are not responsible for replacing it with similar glass, but they don't tell you this), and 2) the work took considerably longer than I was initially told (8 weeks vs. 5-6 weeks). read more

I agree with the reviewer who gave these guys 5 for workmanship but 3 for customer service (I give them 2 for customer service). They took much longer than estimated (almost twice as long) to get the job done and then tried to add on extra cost for work that should have been predictable from the beginning. They also made no attempt to communicate in layman's terms but use jargon that seems deliberately intended to throw the customer off base. If you use Olde Bostonian expect your job to take much longer than estimated and possibly cost more too. read more

We have amazing old windows in our 1895 Victorian and wanted to restore them. After getting quotes so high they made me, literally, cry we stumbled on Olde Bostonian. We toured their workshop and were so impressed with the windows they had worked on--they looked like brand new construction after they were finished! Anthony has gone out of his way to come up with a price we can afford, and is on par with replacement, so we'll be able to keep our windows after all. Plus he gave us a crazy deal on new storms. He is always courteous, punctual, and patient. We've signed on to have Olde Bostonian restore 35+ windows in our house this spring. Then winter hit and ice dams started causing leaks around three windows. We called Anthony in a panic and he sent a crew to take out the windows, patch the opening with heavy plastic and open a path to let water drain away from the window frame and (hopefully) out of the interior of the house. His crew was on time, worked quickly, and cleaned up after themselves. They even took off their shoes to keep our floor dry. Anthony always treats us like we're his only customer and every time we turn around he's doing something extra for us. I plan to update this review after we get the windows actually restored, and if current performance is any indicator, we'll be completely thrilled. read more

Olde Bostonian refinished out front door. I am SO happy with the results. Our 100 year old door no longer looks 100 years old, but gives our house a nice classy look. I could not be happier with the results and their wonderful service. I highly recommend them. I had to stop by the shop to choose our stain color and was amazed at all of the products they carry. If you are looking to replace any old fixtures in your home, they are the place to go! They even have door knobs and draw pulls! read more

I had a terrible experience with this company which surprises me given the good reviews that I read. It took over two months for them to strip and stain two doors. The cost was $1,600.00 for both doors. The customer service was terrible. I had to email repeatedly for status reports and the response was always "I'll check". When I finally got the doors back, I saw that the tops were not stained, which was an issue as you could see the top from the stairs. Anthony said that he would come to my house and stain the top but then blew me off. I finally got him to give me some of the stain so that I could finish the door myself. He apologized for my bad experience but the whole thing was a huge disappointment. read more

I've always seen the Olde Bostonian store front from the highway and stopped by this morning. I am restoring some salvaged doors to install in my home and wanted to put in older hinges with the cannonball pins to match the rest of the doors. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had several as well as an entire drawer of mixed screws to go along with the hinges. I paid $40 for the 4 hinges and screws which was very fair. I will definitely keep them in mind for future projects. read more

Brought a sash here to be stripped and repainted to use as a frame. It took 3 weeks longer than I was originally told to be finished; including several phone calls asking for an update on status and I was told it would be ready soon each time. When they called to tell me it was ready and I went to pick it up, it was not actually ready as the paint needed to be peeled from the glass so I had to wait about 20 mins for that to be completed. As a result of taking the paint off the glass there are several scratches on the glass which are rather noticeable. When I brought up the extended time it took to the office staff, rather than receiving an apology or explaination, I was told, "didn't I call you two weeks ago to tell you it was ready" which was false as when I called a week previously I was told it wasn't ready and needed two more days, and the sash wasn't ready for pick up when I got to the store. Quality overall was average however the experience was heavily tainted by the very long wait, the disappointing customer service, the cost, and the scratches on the glass. read more