Comments on: Upgrading to Iron Balusters

By: Kim Kelley

Kim Kelley — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:09:54 +0000

I have to say, this was the most helpful of all websites that I found in the process of preparing to replace our wooden baulisters of our staircase.
We have a front entry and rear entry staircase which meets in the middle of a common landing before the long staircase to the second floor.
As expected every project always grows into a larger one, or at least it always seems to in this household. I started with the tearout of the old baulisters of the wooden ones. The builder had used caulk on each of the baulisters so when I tore them out if of course pulled the paint off. So the first thing at had after removing the old ones was to sand and paint.
In the placement of the new iron baulisters we also ended up cutting a quarter inch off of the end of the baulisters. We did not want to drill any deeper hole in the handrail for fear of splitting or having to replace that also. I added only the 1 inch in addition to the measurement from rail to floor. Our holes in the floor were also very deep and we used plugs cut from the old baulisters to make the depth 1/2 “. If we still had holes too deep a dime or two made a perfect lift for the new iron baulisters. I think we actually used a role of dimes to fill in.
We did not have any mis-cuts due to the fact we I had so much good information from the internet. I will say that aftergetting all of the bauisters glued in place ( we did not use shoes on the top of the baulisters) only shoes on the bottom. My husband had a great idea, for any areas on the underside of the rail where a bit of the glue was light colored, he suggested using a min wax paint pen for furniture and it was perfect. It looks great and this website was a wonderful find for us.

By: Mike Bennett

Mike Bennett — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 05:14:36 +0000

Thanks for the great info; gave me the knowledge to tackle the project on my own. Here are a few of the lessons I learned. #1 – Each 50 mL cartridge of epoxy glued 10 to 12 balusters. Make sure you order enough. #2 – Sometimes the shoe doesn’t fit over the blaster. Make sure you order enough extra in case this is a problem. I did 171 balusters and 3 were so big enough that I couldn’t find a show to fit over them. #3 – The epoxy glue sets up fast. Have all balusters cut to size and double-check that they fit. Have everything ready BEFORE you start with the glue. It’ll make things go smoothly. #4 – I installed a little differently. I drilled out the bottom hole to a depth of 3.5″ and cut my balusters so I could get it in place and then push it up into the hole in the hand rail. This meant that about 1.5″ of metal was in the top hole and about 1.5″ was in the bottom when I finished. I wanted metal inside the holes cause it seemed like it’d be nice and sturdy. I didn’t fill the bottom hole, just squirted epoxy in the space around the baluster once it was in place and held it in place with the show. Seemed to have worked cause the balusters are very sturdy.
Thanks again for the great info.

By: Karin

Karin — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:18:08 +0000

Thank you soooo much for the instructions….especially the helpful hints that you KNOW no one remembers to add on those other DIY sites. Cross your fingers, I’m going to give it a shot!

By: Mark Woodruff

Mark Woodruff — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:02:18 +0000

This is an excellent way to explain your project! Very detailed as well! I appreciate this as my wife and I will be doing this same project in our home soon so I am investigating. I will check back to let you know how it goes!

By: Matteoli contracting llc

Matteoli contracting llc — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:20:02 +0000

Thank you for the helpful tips, have been in business for a long time and still learning.

We are installing 80 balusters, new risers, treads, and edging for around $3300 (balusters supplied by homeowner).

Thanks again