I just recycled 30 walnut balusters that were too short (the old balustrade was just 29″ tall). My method allowing me to reuse them was to make a bottom rail curb that matched the height of the 8″ baseboards in this old Victorian.
The result was a 37″ guardrail that made the inspector happy and the homeowners happy too.
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Looks good!
That was a clever way to use the old ballusters. Also it was fortunate they were not required on the lower treads.
I am a bit curious, if the hall rail is 37" from the floor, the handrail coming up the stairs looks a lot lower than 36".
You must have enjoyed the 70+ deg miter cuts on the skirt trim.
"Perfect is the enemy of Good." Morrison
Actually, I installed the balustrade rail level, but the floor drops about 1-1/2" in 10', so at the close end (in the photos) the guardrail is 38-1/2".The stair handrail is about 34" above the stair nosings.
Pretty... Consider it stolen
You know what they say about necessity. ;o)
Hey nice work Brian. How ya been?
I did a similar thing a few years back. In this case, the builder reframed the stair opening with LVL's four inches deeper than the floor joists, so they stuck up above the floor. Not a very good pic, but here's what I came up with.
LVL's above the floor...interesting. There seem to be opportunities to get creative more often than we might want. ;o)Things are going pretty well here. Getting good, steady work--mostly really enjoyable projects.
Glad to hear it - same here.
Mike,Glad you have some good stuff going.Yesterdays crazy wind driven rain/sleet seem to be over...it was tough out there, but I was mostly inside.Off to a 9:00 meeting, later,Brian
Just thought I would add a couple of other benefits of this approach. I made the curb out of 2x4's flat, glued and screwed--this solid infill between the posts makes for a very sturdy rail.
Running the base around the newels also adds strength/stiffness and covers bolts and bolt holes too.
Brian,
Looks good. Nice job in salvaging the old rail parts.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Thanks. I never trash that stuff. The walnut top rail went into a local artists house across the river in WI. She loved it, even with all the holes in the bottom.I still have the one starting newel. She's a short, stout beaut.
<She loved it, even with all the holes in the bottom. . . She's a short, stout beaut.>
LOL!
Oh - consider the idea stolen again.
Forrest
The artist is not short and stout...the post is. ;o)The artist has done some great paintings of people in the trades doing their thing. She had a nice exhibit on Labor Day a few years ago. How she manages to capture motion and energy in a still image is a marvel.I have a barrel full of extra balusters in the shop (some cut too short by me--maybe with this approach--I can use them). I do hope this idea can be of use to you and other BT'ers. Nice to know you think it has some merit.Have a great day,Bass
Looks good, good reuse of materials too.
Thanks,I will show the thread to the homeowner. I think they were originally nervous, I told them I was trying a new approach to using old materials. They were not sure they wanted me to experiment with their house, but they like it.
Great ideas. Thanks for taking the time to share them with us.