Replacing Wood Stair Spindles And Balusters With Wrought Iron Spindles
One of the most popular ways to update an old railing is to replace the wood balusters (also known as spindles) with wrought iron balusters. This is not to claim that wrought iron is always preferable to wood, but occasionally wood balusters may be damaged, cracked, or simply out of date. You might be able to change the appearance of your wood staircase by simply giving it a fresh coat of paint, or you could take out the wooden spindles and replace them with wrought iron ones.
Tools Needed
- Reciprocating Saw
- Sander Or Sanding Block
- Hot Glue Gun Or Epoxy
Remove Wooden Spindles
- Your original white wood balusters needs to be removed before you began replacing the stair spindles. You need to cut an angled slice through each baluster with the help of Reciprocating Saw and then twist them as long as they came out. Then, you need to jiggle them till the nail came loose because they are usually brad-nailed in.
- The previous orange-tinted oak finish on the railings then needs to be polished down using an orbital sander. Due of the amount of buried filth and sealant that was present and continued fast degrading the pads, you have to use three sander discs. After fully buffing them, you need a moist rag in order to wipe down the entire surface.
- The railings will next be stained and sealed. Minwax Dark Walnut, which has been used on a tons of previous projects and is essentially the same color as your downstairs floors, is strongly advised. This maintains harmony throughout the area and appears classy.
- Then, to prevent them from being worn down by people grasping the railings, you must apply five coats of matte polycrylic to the entire structure.
Install Wrought Iron Spindles
- When it comes to installing wrought iron spindles, there are a tone of design alternatives, but since your room is so little, you don't need anything too intricate. On Amazon, there are also a tone of possibilities. One single swirly and a basket sandwiched between two swirlies are two of the better alternate designs. They are both quite straightforward, wouldn't be overly noticeable, and were also attractive.
- Cut your own iron balusters to the appropriate length before adding them. Make sure to gauge both the depth of the railing's hole and the separation between the railing and the ground.
- From the middle of your design, multiply those numbers to determine the length of your balusters. It was 30 inches for us. This allows you to drop the baluster down to the bottom board after sliding it up into the top hole.
- Have questions about cutting iron balusters? To simply trim the balusters to length, use a reciprocating saw. They are also simple to cut with a saw blade that has fine teeth. By placing some Frog Tape where the cut should be and then buzzing it down, you need to mark the cuts.
- When installing the balusters, keep these two points in mind. To avoid having to pull the baluster out again, put the shoe on first before inserting it into the railing. The alternative is to secure them in place with hot glue.