Casual Railings and Stairs Replaced With a Traditional Flare
- Home Case Studies Casual Railings and Stairs Replaced With a Traditional Flare
This is more of the old railing be
fore it was updated
This is the railing the buyer hated
More of the old railing system the buyer disliked
After removing the contemporary railing the updated one was installed
Here is our client's balcony with the new railing 
Here is the new overlook from the balcony
Before the stairs and railings were updated, here is the carpet & contemporary railing
The stair treads will soon be stained and finished
Here is the upper stair treads that were stained
Here is the balcony all finished
Client gets the traditional railing and stairs she wanted
Here is the lower railing after it was installed
- Location: Mount Laurel
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Job:
ob: Refinished Residential Home Hardwood Floor Treads, Risers & Landing
The challenge- Buyers wanted to replace the contemporary railings and stairs with traditional ones.
Not a fan of the contemporary look inside her new home, our client insisted on updating the railings and stairs along with the hardwood floors getting installed before they moved in. Loving the house overall, it is nearly perfect. But she does not like how casual the inside is.
On the to-do list was to gut the kitchen, tear out the carpets on the first floor, stairs and upstairs hall way. Then there was plans to install wide plank hardwood flooring. Want to see how the floor part of the project went Click here. And also update the master bathroom. With the focus on the interior luckily there wasn’t anything to do with the exterior.
So while we didn’t actually do the railings (but could have), on this job we did do the stair treads and landing.
We started with the upstairs hall balcony area. After the wood is acclimated we installed it on the balcony. Then we worked our way down. After the carpet was torn out we planned to use stair tread covers overtop of the plywood on the stairs. Secondly we had riser veneer material to encapsulate the riser plywood. And the last thing for us was to install hardwood on the landing.
Using tread covers is an easier alternative than completely ripping out the stair plywood and replacing it with solid hardwood. The tread covers meet code, and when installed it heightens the stairs but by about a half inch. So once they are installed people get used to the difference easily. Eventually it becomes the new norm.
And using riser veneer it cleans up the surface of the riser which often gets hammered with staples from the carpet that previously covered the stairs. Besides eliminating the need to putty the staple holes, the veneer also eliminates any chance of having the wood grain climb through the paint. To explain further, if left as is over time the grain would pop through the paint and begin to show. So when you want to guarantee a clean, white painted surface it is ideal to use the veneer. Doing it this way you get lean lines once and for all!
Moving forward we did all the stair modifications, and then we stained and finished everything.
With the tread covers in place we sanded, stained and finished them and the landing. Then we painted the risers.
The railings were removed, and new railings and newels were installed.
They went in unfinished, and then the railing contractor finished them to match using the same stain we used. And after the railings and balcony railings were refinished new ornamental spindles were installed. A more formal look, this is exactly what our client wanted, and we were glad to help!
