Project Information
We live in a typical late 70's colonial style house. The house interior was largely featureless with plain ranch style painted moldings, carpeted pine stairs and awful metal handrails. When the opportunity came to remodel the house, we opted for a warmer Arts and Crafts Period look to match our furniture.
We removed the old millwork, carpeting and railings. The metal front door was replaced with an Oak A&C style door with sidelights that feature leaded glass windows (photo 5 and 6). We had a contractor install the front door and I did all of the millwork for the stairs, door and hallway. I purchased a few hundred board feet of red oak and set to work milling and constructing. The staircase was in need of repair because of saggy treads that squeaked when you stepped on them. The original pine stairs were repaired and overlayed with oak treads, risers and skirt boards. The rails, spindles and newel posts are all stick build. The chevron detail in the railing mimics the art glass windows in the front door and sidelights. The doorways and closets now have built up faux columns at the openings. I used the IRC Stairway building code to ensure that spindle spacing and rail heights and offsets were compliant. The finish is GF Candlelight gel stain with GF Arm-R-Seal topcoat. After several months (= way too many months), I was able to do the final installation.
Overall, I am pleased with the outcome. It was difficult retrofitting a new staircase to one that must have been built after a hard night of drinking (i.e. NOTHING was straight , level or plumb). The remodel project continued into the living room, dining room and study. I will post that project separately in the near future. Next up is the second floor hallway and replacing the painted doors with wood doors.
We removed the old millwork, carpeting and railings. The metal front door was replaced with an Oak A&C style door with sidelights that feature leaded glass windows (photo 5 and 6). We had a contractor install the front door and I did all of the millwork for the stairs, door and hallway. I purchased a few hundred board feet of red oak and set to work milling and constructing. The staircase was in need of repair because of saggy treads that squeaked when you stepped on them. The original pine stairs were repaired and overlayed with oak treads, risers and skirt boards. The rails, spindles and newel posts are all stick build. The chevron detail in the railing mimics the art glass windows in the front door and sidelights. The doorways and closets now have built up faux columns at the openings. I used the IRC Stairway building code to ensure that spindle spacing and rail heights and offsets were compliant. The finish is GF Candlelight gel stain with GF Arm-R-Seal topcoat. After several months (= way too many months), I was able to do the final installation.
Overall, I am pleased with the outcome. It was difficult retrofitting a new staircase to one that must have been built after a hard night of drinking (i.e. NOTHING was straight , level or plumb). The remodel project continued into the living room, dining room and study. I will post that project separately in the near future. Next up is the second floor hallway and replacing the painted doors with wood doors.
