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There were many opportunities to install attractive railings and handrails
in the Project House, and we wanted to take full advantage of every one of them.
On the other hand, because we were building the house on a very tight schedule
that was firmly linked to the Michael Holigan's Your New House production
deadlines, we needed to ensure that the installation of the railings and handrails
would go swiftly, and according to plan.
To accomplish this, we installed an innovative and unique system from Custom
Iron that the manufacturer claimed could reduce installation time by up to 50%.
As it turned out, the installation of our railings on the front switchback
stair, a curved stair in the rear, a second story bridge, and around a large
opening in the floor between the first and second story living areas took just
a little over three days.
The Custom Iron installation went so quickly because Custom Iron basically
came up with a whole new mousetrap when it comes to railing and banister installation.
The Old-Fashioned Way
For hundreds of years, ornamental iron work for staircases was fabricated on
site, in a difficult, dangerous, messy and time-consuming process. A metal strip
ran the entire length of the staircase, and was attached to another metal strip
that the handrail was mounted to. All the metalwork had to be matched to exact
specifications, and that was very difficult to do offsite. So fabricators showed
up at the site with all their welding and bending and forging equipment, made
complicated templates, and would seal off the stairway so nobody else could
use it. Everyone on the installation team had to be working very closely onsite.
It was a mess, involving a lot of grinding and welding, with sparks flying and
smoke billowing, at a most inconvenient stage late in the construction schedule.
Custom Iron's Innovation
The Custom Iron system is based on the use of panels that are custom-fabricated
offsite, based on field dimensions submitted by the homeowner, builder or trim
carpenter. Simultaneously, the homeowner is consulting with the Custom Iron
engineers to decide on how they want their rail to look, based on catalog selections
or custom designs. Using the dimensions, Custom Iron creates a CAD drawing,
then submits a drawing back to the homeowner for their approval.
If the homeowner wants to see a more detailed representation, Custom Iron can
create a rendered three-dimensional image, complete with colors and textures.
In some cases - such as with the sharply curved rear stairway in the Project
House, Custom Iron can't define a panel shape by taking field dimensions. In
that case, the trim carpenter traces the landing tread on a thin piece of cardboard
and ships the template to the Custom Iron factory. The Custom Iron fabricators
then take the flat panel and forge it to fit the template. This is done by taking
an assembled straight panel, heating the metal, then placing the panel into
a hydraulic press, which has been outfitted with a die that is machined to fit
the template.
The metal handrail is attached to the panel's top rail with a unique-in-the-industry
rivet system developed by Custom Iron. The handrail/rivet/top rail system ends
the need for expensive, messy welding.
The system is designed for installation as a do-it-yourself project, as well.
Using the templates and basic, readily available tools, even a moderately experienced
do-it-yourselfer can tackle the installation of a custom-built iron stairway.
Contact Information:
Custom Iron
1-800-732-7699
Visit Custom Iron's Website
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