A world-renowned architect was designing a home renovation in the greater Philadelphia area. As part of the renovation, the original builder-grade wood picket railing needed to go. To enhance the ambience of the entrance space, we installed a custom crafted iron railing .
There was over 50 feet of interior railing, including an extensive overlook to the main entry. This layout made the interior railing quite visible from both floors, stressing the importance of getting the railing design correct for the sake of the peace and harmony of the house.
The architect had created a railing design with rings on alternating pickets. The four-sided support railing posts also featured this ring design. We constructed the posts out of 1” square solid bar with solid cast-iron balls on top.
The client wanted an authentic iron railing, so we proposed a hot forged texture to the pickets. In this technique, we heated the bar to a red-hot forging temperature and then hammered it with a power hammer. We used mill scale as part of the medium to create texture into the hot bar. This creates a very random pattern as no two hammer blows create the same impression on the iron railing pickets. We used this technique on the rings used for the pickets as well. The iron railing caprail was 2 ½” wide, had a typical molded profile on top of 1 ½” by ½” bar channel.
The main design element of this rail is the shield in the middle of it. We created a shield outline by using rearing cast-iron lions. This entire family Crest made a very special visual feature. The railing was then blasted and powder-coated with a matte black powder-coat finish. The oak support posts underneath were also enhanced on all four sides by creating iron panels with the same design. This created an awesome contrast between the ir
on and wood.
So, this Philadelphia area home eliminated its dated look, and incorporated a timeless, authentic, beautiful iron railing that will provide years of beauty and safety to come.
