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Design Concepts

Remodeling Your Home? Here’s How to Emerge Unscathed

Is it time for a new home remodel? For many homeowners, remodeling their home is a stressful event. Couples often experience marital strife during major home renovations due to financial stress, disagreements about things such as paint color, and the general chaos that tends to ensue when your whole life is turned upside down for […]


DIY Home Repairs that Have a Big Pay Off for Home Sellers

Eco-Friendly Home Repair Tips That Will Pay Off From leaky faucets to crooked shutters, it seems that there is always something that needs to be repaired when you own a home. Home repairs can be costly and time-consuming, and you may wonder which repairs will be worth it should you ever decide to sell your […]


Finishing Basement Stairs

Not sure what to do with your basement stairs? Depending on the design of your home, you may have stairs leading to your basement that are unsightly and hazardous. This may be a great place for you to invest in the value and utility of your home. For the purpose of this post, I will […]


Painted or Stained Balusters

You’ve decided on wood balusters. You may have even settled on a design, but the question inevitably comes up: painted or stained balusters? Although this typically comes down to personal preference, there are a few things you should keep in mind when you are selecting your finishes. First, be aware that “stain-grade” wood is generally […]


Hiring a Professional

Building or remodeling a home is a very personal experience. People who are successful in the industry understand that building relationships and earning referral business is part of the job. As a homeowner, you’ll want to find someone with whom you can communicate–it is important for them to understand and realize your vision. The right contractor […]


Combining Wood Stair Parts With Wrought Iron Balusters

If you are considering a wrought iron baluster pattern, you may be wondering whether you should choose a full iron balustrade with handrail, posts, and balusters or a combination of wood stair parts with wrought iron balusters. For interior balustrades, where sun and weathering are not an issue, first consider the stylistic aspect as a […]


Types of Stairs

There are several different types of stairs that are used in architectural design.  These vary for a variety of reasons, two of the most important being their visual appeal and consideration of space.  Stairways can occupy a rather large footprint in a home but through some creative design, this footprint can be substantially reduced when […]


Outrageous Stairs in an Outrageous Homes – Woodstairs.com in HGTV’s Top 10 Outrageous Homes

HGTV’s most outrageous homes will feature an $11 million house in Riverton Utah on its “Top 10 Outrageous Homes” this fall.  Woodstairs is proud, behind the scenes, contributor to this amazing project through the stair parts supplied to one of our customers, Titan Stairs of Utah.  Titan Stairs has been a WoodStairs customer for half […]


Stair Makeover – Adding a Wood Handrail to Wrought Iron

Considering a stair makeover? Adding wood handrail to a full wrought iron balustrade can literally heat up your railing system without the expense of replacing the entire banister.  Wood handrails are typically larger, warmer to the touch and the eye and more comfortable in your hand.  This is one simple and inexpensive way to perform […]


Stair Makeover – Replacing Wood Balusters with Wrought Iron Balusters

Replacing wood balusters (aka spindles) with wrought iron balusters is one of the most common methods of upgrading an outdated balustrade.  This is not to say that wrought iron is superior to wood in general but sometimes wood balusters may have been damaged, broken, or they are simply outdated.  You may be able to modify […]


How to Add Wood Handrail to An Iron Balustrade

Job: Capping your iron railing with a wood handrail Difficulty: Medium to Easy depending on skill level Tools: Chop Saw, Tape Measure, Hammer, Drill, Screws, Titebond Glue Adding wood handrail to a full wrought iron balustrade can dramatically increase the look of your railing system without the expense of replacing the entire banister.  Wood handrails […]


Inspirational Stair Design

Looking for inspirational stair design? Stairs and balustrades are one of the key architectural features of any multilevel structure.  As such they have experienced a long historical evolution from basic function to the artistic diversity we know today.  Their styles and designs are as wide-ranging as the spaces which contain them; from the historical authentic, […]


Log Railings

Update: Our company no longer offers log railings. We have left this article for archive purposes. Log railings are available in a wide variety of sizes and textures and they are a virtually essential component of many rustic homes or cabins.  They are typically available in two wood species, pine and cedar.  Cedar is an […]


Interior Stair Railing Design

If you are looking for a way to add a little character to your floor level balustrade here is an idea that gives a new purpose to a standard stair part.  Designing a distinct and memorable balustrade from the myriad components available definitely involves some creative thought.  There is more to it than picking the […]


Balustrade Design

Balustrade design involves several steps that are narrowed down from concept to individual  components.  You may have an existing stair design from your house plans or that you intend to remodel.  From this basic shape the first consideration is they style of the space.  Balustrades are a very prominent feature in most architectural interior design.  […]


Selecting the Correct Newel Post Types for your Balustrade

Wood Newel Posts are available in two main categories, each with virtually unlimited designs.  These categories are Turned Newel Posts and Box Newel Posts.  While there are countless designs there are also a couple of variations for each style, specific to their intended use.  These variations are most important with Turned Newel Posts and it […]


Top 10 Reasons to Remodel Your Stairs and Balustrade

10.  Potential homebuyers may be discouraged from buying your home because of outdated stairs.  Unfortunately for many home sellers they do not realize the importance of the staircase or balustrade in making that first impression of their homes interior.  In fact they may never realize what they lost in time and money because they didn’t […]


Choosing Baluster Styles

Baluster styles are available in several different categories and virtually unlimited designs.  While the other components also have a dramatic impact, none feature so prominently as the balusters themselves.  While there are many variations, these are typically available in two materials, wood balusters and metal balusters. Wood balusters are placed into several basic categories, Rustic, […]


Comparing Stair Parts – Wood Handrail

Perhaps even more than your typical purchase, with stair parts you get what you pay for.  The problem with this is that because of the relative simplicity of the products, the variation that affects price can be so drastic that two seemingly similar products can scarcely be classified as the “same” at all.  Consider two […]


Remodeling Your Stairs on a Budget

Purchasing stair parts doesn’t have to break the bank. There are many ways to remodel your stairs on a budget.  While some options are more cost-effective than others they depend on the conditions of your situation and what if any concessions you are willing to make.  Perhaps you want to use your stairs to help […]


Replacing wood balusters with wrought iron balusters

Many customers ask if it is possible to replace wood balusters with wrought iron balusters without replacing the handrail, tread caps, etc.  While this has always been possible the process was a little tricky to ensure that the previous holes were covered and that the result looked clean and professional.  Now, however, one of WoodStairs.com’s […]


Secret Compartment within a Box Newel Post

Secret compartments within a newel post is not a new concept.  Stashing valuables in stair posts has been done for centuries. Newel posts are the large supporting posts that occur intermittently or at corners or ends of a balustrade to which the handrail is attached.  They provide the greatest structural support of the balustrade.  Over […]


Achieving a Bolstered Beauty with Balusters

Home and building owners are always considering ways to enhance the value and appeal of their real estate properties. Balusters can function as a safety feature for pretty much any building. In addition, they can add to the aesthetic appeal of the space. Balusters are popularly used on stairs between the handrails and the landing. […]


Finding the Right Stair Parts for Your Home Decorating project

Whether you are remodeling your home or planning the interior design for your new home you will want to explore your interior and exterior design options. The appeal of the home is determined by the location as well as its appearance. There are a number of options that will allow you to increase the physical […]


Remodeling Stairs to Sell Your Home

One of our largest categories of customers at WoodStairs.com is remodelers.  We’ve been asked countless times over the years how important is it to remodel stairs to sell your home.  While I admit we are definitely not the most unbiased of sources for this information ourselves we have had thousands of customers who’ve shared their experiences.  The […]


What is Skirtboard?

Buy Stair Skirtboards – Skirtboards are a category of aprons which are basically a type of stair moulding.  While Skirtboards are often used to describe all stair aprons, there is a better and simpler categorization that helps define the location of the apron on the stair or balustrade.  While the aprons on a particular staircase […]


Staircase Design

Staircase design is a relatively simple concept especially if you don’t really put a lot of thought into it.  If do want to truly maximize the potential of this wonder architectural design space then you  will quickly realize that it may not be as simple as it seems.  As you dig a little deeper into […]


Stair Design

If you are considering a new stair design in your home but are on the fence here are a few examples of the dramatic difference this often simple renovation can make.  Whether you want to rejuvenate your living area for your continued enjoyment or add something extra to help sell or increase the sales price […]


Iron Balusters and Wood Balusters

Choosing between iron balusters and wood balusters is almost entirely a decision of appearance.  When installed correctly either option provides very similar strength characteristics and are more than adequate for the job.  In addition Wrought Iron Balusters and Wood Balusters overlap substantially in cost, with a wide variety of each being very comparable.  In the […]


What are Newel Posts

Newel Posts are one of the most important structural members of a railing system.  They contribute the largest percentage of strength and durability to the balustrade.  There are two major categories of newels, turned wood newels and box newel posts also called box posts. When selecting a newel post you should consider the overall balustrade […]


All About Balusters – Wood and Iron Stair Balusters

Learn all about balusters aka spindles. Balusters are the vertical columns that support a handrail.  They come in a virtually unlimited array of shapes and styles made from a variety of materials.  Although baluster is the correct term and spelling, they are also commonly called spindles and pickets. One of the major materials from which balusters […]


Creativity Under the Stairs

Want creative stair design ideas? Remodeling your stairway?   Or creating a new construction stair design? Why just upgrade from bad to good when you could make it extraordinary?  While this can be expensive, even cost prohibitively so, with a little ingenuity you might just create a design for your staircase that is both amazing and inexpensive. […]


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