Residential Stair & Railing Makeover

Master tradeswoman hires neighbors to tweak her stairs and railings while updating her home.

Joanne carefully handpicked a seasoned contractor for her first-floor restyle, just as she does in her daily work. We were hired to refinish her floors. Our neighbor Warren, a master carpenter with a third-generation wood mill, replaced the entire railing system. When we all showed up on-site, it felt like a neighborhood block party!

Besides erasing any hint of the old, dated orange’d appearance on the red oak floors, the grand staircase was flawlessly and smartly updated. Out went the rounded newel posts and landing tread. They were replaced by sleek, square ones with metal balusters.

As Warren worked his magic on the railings, newel posts and balusters, we overlapped by sanding and refinishing the treads and painting the risers. Both working together it was a pleasure to complete the transformation.

A Perfect Pairing: A one-two punch for flawless results, no detail left behind!

As floor refinishers, we are often asked and hired to revitalize stairs and railings along with the hardwood floors. And while we are happy to sand and refinish the various stair and railing components, we don’t endeavor to replace, build, or install them when requested.

So we stayed in our lane. Our casting call was to focus on updating all the floors on the first floor. Adding to that we also refinished the stair treads, risers, and upper hallway. View our masterful transformation of the floors here.

Instead, this highly specialized work was best left to skilled master craftsmen. One main reason was that new or upgraded ones must be brought to the current building code (which we are not “up on’). Also, with so many intricate parts, angles, layers, and levels, there’s lots of geometry and ingenuity needed to adeptly deliver a reliable, safe, and secure system. Knowing this and where we were best suited, we kept to our expertise. Moreover, knowing the complexity of the project, Joanne commissioned Warren for the railing system conversion. It was a tale of two tradesmen teams working in concert, not conflict.

Actually Joanne got the best of both worlds, and a really awesome rock-solid grand and stunning stair and railing system!

The shared work:

• deconstruct the existing system
• rebuild the landing tread
• install new, sleek, and squared newel covers to replace the rounded ones
• fill the holes of the treads where the balusters were attached
• replace railing components as needed
• sand and refinish the reusable railings and all the new components
• install replacement riser caps to prep for paint
• sand and refinish the stair treads
• reinstall the railing system
• install the new balusters

Mostly taking a backseat on this project, our tasks were minor compared to Warren’s.

As Warren capably orchestrated all the moving parts of this stair and railing conversion, ours was but a minimal dance to help complete the job. Simply explained, we assisted Warren in providing him with the precise stain, seal, and finishes we used on all the flooring we refinished. And when appropriate, we replaced the risers with a veneer for a sleeker look that would be painted white, instead of stained. And finally, we sanded and refinished the stair treads once all the modifications were made.

The results

Well, if we might toot our horn on behalf of our shared effort: We gave them one gorgeously smart, impressive grand entry that’s sure to get the attention and compliments from friends, family, and visitors alike. But the craftsmanship is also worthy of a nod from fellow tradespeople, too! Touché, Team Hopkins!

If you a contemplating a hardwood floor, stair, and railing upgrade, we’d love to tag team to help you as well! For your questions answered or for a FREE ESTIMATE, Call us at 609.953.0472 or  CONTACT US ONLINE.