Clients in the greater Philadelphia area had several stairs without any railings that they contacted us to remedy. They were really attracted to our company by our artistic railing of the Japanese Maple tree design style. The clients project entailed a long, curved stair that they wanted a stair handrail for. They also had steps to the front door that needed attention. At the back door, they wanted stair railings as well.
In total, there was about 35 feet of stair railing. All of which they wanted in the artistic Japanese Maple tree design. This included a forged trunk, branches, twigs, and leaves. However, when we looked at cost of this labor-intensive design, it was out of the budget range. That is because it would require us to forge all the individual trunks, branches, twigs, and each individual leaf. Then we would have to put the leaves through the power hammer to give it an authentic look to that of a Japanese Maple tree. After we create the veins, we hammer each leaf by hand for its own unique personality.
After considering budget for all the footage of stair railings required, and the labor/cost required to do this artistic design, the client inquired about a more cost-effective handrail for the back steps and the front door. The decision was made to use 1 5/8” OD pipe without any forging texture.
The fact that this material has a round profile makes it slightly easier to work with. Now this property meets code requirements in a much more cost-effective way.
The client still wanted the artistic railing for the main front door entry. So, with dialogue on both design and budget we made it happen! Now the client has safe stairways to every entrance as well as a stunning design leading up to the front door for all to enjoy.
