Designs

By Scott Uhrig

Ever wonder how they came up with the stair railings before there were safety standards? Although, there isn't a history of railings, common sense says railings were always around. You can see them in castles and other buildings still standing after hundreds of years.

However, there have been many changes since they built castles. The railings now have to have all the safety precautions added to them. They aren't for decoration any more. The 1980s brought about safety regulation stating stair cases and railings are no longer handrails but they had to have certain safety factors built into them.

Now stairs and railings, especially interior stair railings, must have the ability to handle a certain amount of poundage. They also need to have no slip grips and be 4 inches between the balusters. It makes sense to use them for safety as well as decorative. Even the decorative railings have safety features built right into them. They come in a wide variety of materials to match any staircase.

They come in wood, metallic, vinyl, metal, and other types of materials. They can be powdered coated, matte, brushed soft, or highly polished. The top of the railings can be made out of the same material as the rest of the rails. There are a few exceptions such as glass railings where the glass rail is part of the vertical posts and separated by panes of glass on the top and bottom of the rail.

They have many advantages over other types of railings; however, the main disadvantage is they are glass. They have fingerprints that have to be cleaned daily unless, of course, you want to see how many people use the railing. In that case, don't clean them for a day and see how many fingerprints you can count.

Other types of railing tops only have to be wiped down and maybe polished once a week, especially wood railings. You can have any type of handrail on your stairs that you want. With the safety features now built into them, you don't have to worry about them not supporting whoever uses them. However, that is not the main worry. Being sure people, meaning your family members and friends, use the railings.

You can have custom interior stair railings manufactured such as lions on the posts, grooves on the railing, or you can even have them painted to match the color of your walls or floors. They will last the lifetime of your house if you take care of them. For example, if they are wood, they could be infected with insects or be warped if they get wet. Since you have a choice of materials like iron, brass, wrought iron, or aluminum you don't have to worry about insects, but you do have to look out for rust.

Choose from a wide selection of high-quality Stairs and Railings of different styles, makes and designs for your home. Pick the design and carvings for your Interior Stair Railings and have them custom made.

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