Compass Ironworks participated in the NOMMA 2022 Top Job Competition and was given 2 gold awards and 1 silver award. The NOMMA Top Job competition covers driveway gates, interior stair railings, exterior railings, iron fences, iron furniture, iron sculptures and iron restoration projects. Entries come from all over the country, and even internationally. These submissions are designed by the craftsmen, their clients, and architects/designers. They are an insight to the most current trends and design styles.
Compass was presented a gold award in the category of interior railings. We received this for an eclectic contemporary stair railing. The railing design was created by the interior designer and then tweaked in the shop dwg process. The railing design was quite challenging to execute, with the ¼ x ½ flat bars having multiple radii within the same bar. The biggest challenge was the iron railing curve on both sides of the stairs. The railing design had to turn latitudinally and longitudinally without any distortion of the flat bars whatsoever.
The silver award was presented for a 3-story radial staircase that had it’s own set of challenges. The home that was being built was substantially completed and solar panels were already installed on the roof. The helical stairs were 8inches in diameter, and there were 3 sets of doors that were 6ft in width. Clearly this was going to be a difficult install with installing through the roof not an option. So, we did a ton of research, brainstorming and calculations and determined that with careful maneuvering we could corkscrew each individual flight of the 3 stairs through the 3 sets of doors. We designed special dolly systems with a rotisserie pivot point. All the stair flights were built at the shop, blasted, and coated before being transported to the site, worked into position, and installed.
The second gold award was presented for the restoration of French wrought iron gates. The client had bought them years ago and leaned them against an oak tree. Then a major storm blew the massive oak tree over, directly onto the gates. The ground was soft from the rain, so the force of the tree created a huge radius into these iron gates. We brought them back to the shop and salvaged all the scrollwork. Then cut out, straightened members, and did all the rework. In stripping the old finish off, we found the stamp “Nantes”, which led us to believe that these gates were created in Nantes, France. We refinished the gates and installed them. Now they are again with their original masonry columns, providing privacy and security for this exceptional property.
So, with the addition of these 3 awards Compass Ironworks has been presented with 15 awards in the past 8 years, including the well sought-after Mitch Heitler Award for excellence in craftsmanship in 2016. To which we are very thankful and strive to continue to produce some the best products this industry has seen!
