How to Install a Curved Stairwell Iron Railing

Michael: The owners of this country house wanted a handcrafted iron rail for their imposing staircase. But they didn’t want any welding and grinding to mess up their interior work that was nearly complete. Custom Iron was able to supply a hand forge iron rail that was custom made in their factory by supplying individual panels instead of the traditional continuous rail. Aaron Stadsvold explains how that ornamental metal fabricators at Custom Iron combines sophisticated engineering with traditional 19th century metalsmithing.

Aaron: With these panel system we’ve developed a way for the local trim and carve it easily install this handcrafted iron work on their staircases. They send us in their specification and our skilled engineers convert those in the cad drawings. We work through the details with the carpenter on site. And when the panel show up, they are ready to be installed.

Michael: Using the shop drawings and templates included with the hard work kit. The installers begin by locating, verifying and drilling mounting holes in the landing tread and stair stringers. Then they drill holes for the vertical posts of all the panels. The they divide-up the distance between the panels for the individual balusters that are used in the design.

They drill to a minimum depth of ¾ of an inch to ensure that the rail will be stable. Once the holes are drilled, they try to fit the panels to make sure that the holes are deep enough. Each rail panel has been engineered and tailor made to fit this stairway.

Aaron: Now we’re doing panels because we can design them with a certain amount of adjustment for installation on sides. So not everything has to be perfect yet you get the same quality of iron work. This railing system consisted of 9 curving panels and 7 curved inclined panels to fit on this curving stair.

Michael: The crew adjust each panel for the correct height and plumb. They slip a metal base on to the bottom of the baluster and tighten set screws to set the balusters at the correct height.

Aaron: With this system, you drill a hole, you can lift the panel a little or drop it down, you push it in place and then when you set the handrail on top with the hole in it, you can adjust the handrail as needed to. And you end up with an excellent looking rail. We heat the metal until it’s red hot and then our skilled craftsmen form it into the shapes you see either by using big power hammers or small hammers and an amble. We developed this panel specifically for this house in Austin here. It’s an ionic pattern that can be found in Greek columns.

Michael: When we came to the top of the staircase, we actually have an S bend on here which 2 curves going on opposite directions. Now the guys at factory’s iron works were smart enough not just to trust architect’s plans or what the framer sent them on a way they built this because dimensions on a piece of paper in the field can be different from real life. So they actually had a trim carpenter come in here and laid down a piece of cardboard and cut a template followed along this S lines they had it perfectly. And they went ahead and put it against a plate heated it up put it in a hydraulic press and made the bend so they have the exact S on here.

And as you can see once it’s installed, it’s perfect. It matches exactly the way the deck here was built out. The crew fits the hand rail on top of the panels to ensure that everything will go together smoothly once the pieces are glued in place. When the panels are dry fit perfectly, they’re ready for the final glue. The installers remove each panel, insert epoxy into the holes and replace the panel. Once the panels are glued, they’re braced for plumb and allowed to dry. The fast dry epoxy will start to set up in about 7 minutes at 70 degrees.

So the crew has to work quickly. This is where the dry fit process pays off. When the glue has set and dried, the crew takes construction adhesive and fills holes for the panels in the underside of the hand rail. Then they set the hand rail in place and allow it to dry. Next they install the individual balusters between the panels. Again they add metal bases and make minor adjustments with set screws to keep the balusters at the correct height. All the parts add up to a beautiful and functional rod iron railing blending the ancient art of metal craft with today’s technology. For more information on Custom Iron’s line of railings and staircases, visit their website at CustomIron.com.