Installing railing along the stairs

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25 April 2024, 09:00 AM

ShiroKuro

Installing railing along the stairs

BTW, I have two contractors lined up to come and give me a quote on doing the stairs, so hopefully we can actually get them done before we move in.

Assuming we can pick the railing style in a timely fashion...

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

25 April 2024, 09:18 AM

wtg

I think rontuner and Mik are thinking about what happens if there's a floor to ceiling slat wall, or a regular wall, enclosing the stairs. It's not the width of the stairway as much as it is making the turn at the bottom of the stairs that becomes an issue. Like if you were bringing a sectional in. If you have a regular height railing on the stairs, you might be able to lift it over it to make the turn, but that wouldn't be possible with a wall of some sort.

But with that exterior door that goes into the basement space, it makes way more sense to go around the house to the back and get in that way.

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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb

Bazootiehead-in-training

25 April 2024, 09:42 AM

ShiroKuro

Ahh, thanks for the clarification!

I don't think we'll do anything floor to ceiling and as cool as those photos are, no wall slats. It's too fancy and too far outside of my experience. Also we would need to spend a lot more time thinking about the design elements before choosing. So I'd be worried about choosing the wrong thing or something that would look dated relatively quickly.

We're going to prioritize simple, classic, timeless (hopefully!), and also speed, because we would love to get this finished before we move in.

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

25 April 2024, 09:42 AM

ShiroKuro

Speaking of speed, the roof was installed yesterday.

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

25 April 2024, 10:18 AM

QuirtEvans

Late to this, but definitely get a railing.

My ex-wife’s house had a similar situation on the basement stairs. One of my daughters tumbled over the side and broke her wrist.

25 April 2024, 10:56 AM

ShiroKuro

quote:
One of my daughters tumbled over the side and broke her wrist.

We're committed to this. It's not worth the risk.

I already have contractors scheduled to come out and give us some quotes. Hopefully we can make it happen before we move in.

By the way, I should stress how grateful I am to everyone here, I sort of thought this lack of railing wasn't great (and the inspector flagged it so I knew it wasn't to code) but I didn't really connect with it until people here brought it (and Big Al's story really sealed the deal for me!)

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

25 April 2024, 03:44 PM

wtg

Another possibility, a half wall (ignore that "Before" label):

Fewer choices to make re design.

25 April 2024, 04:33 PM

ShiroKuro

Interesting! That’s quite nice — whatever I was imagining wasn’t this!

That last one might work. The guy who suggested a wall instead of railing is coming for a quote next week (we’re getting a quote from him for something else as well) so this is super helpful bc I can show him this photo.

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

25 April 2024, 04:49 PM

wtg

We had a version of that second photo in our vacation house, except that we just had a stained oak cap as a handrail and finished wall on that vertical part. I kind of like that waterfall effect of running the cap down the front of that wall.

I probably have a photo here somewhere of that part of the house, but not sure where it is...if I find it, I'll post it...

edit: Couldn't find the pic of our old house, but this is what I was talking about:

26 April 2024, 07:07 AM

ShiroKuro

WTG thanks for this newest photo, it’s really helpful. Mr SK is interested in considering this possibility as well.

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

26 April 2024, 02:08 PM

Cindysphinx

I know nothing of design or construction.

But I do know something about cleaning. I loathe vacuuming stairs. And carpet on stairs is always going to take a beating and can even get slippery if it is worn.

When we moved in, we removed the carpet from the stairs, and there was hardwood there. Recently, we put some clear grippy strips on them to make sure no one slipped. Now, we sweep the dirt to the bottom rather than vacuum.

26 April 2024, 02:43 PM

ShiroKuro

Thanks Cindy!

We'll try to peak under the carpet and see what's there.

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

18 May 2024, 11:27 AM

big al

I saw this railing treatment in a recently posted real estate listing:

Big Al

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Money seems to buy the most happiness when you give it away.

Why does everything have to be so complicated, all in the name of convenience. -ShiroKuro

A lifetime of experience will change a person. If it doesn't, then you're already dead inside. -MarkJ

18 May 2024, 01:08 PM

ShiroKuro

Very nice!

We decided to go with traditional railing with balusters etc.

Now we’re just waiting for the contractor to start. -_-

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My piano recordings at Box.Net: https://app.box.com/s/j4rgyhn72uvluemg1m6u

18 May 2024, 01:52 PM

AdagioM

quote:
Originally posted by big al:
I saw this railing treatment in a recently posted real estate listing:

Big Al

I hope there’s another entrance here. How did they get that futon frame around the corner at the bottom of the stairs?