Thursday, February 25, 2021

Replacing Rotted Railing

When CDR installed our back stairs in 2012, they put in hemlock! In Rainy Oregon. Outdoors. Had they taken one minute to ask us what we wanted, we would have approved and paid for a more durable outdoor wood. But what is done, is done. And now the backstair railing wood is all rotted out. 


We found someone who can help us replace the current railing so we're going to try and do that in the next few weeks, but we are going to change the design so hopefully there will be less problem with water seeping into crevices and rotting out the wood. And I'd really like to install flat sawn balusters rather than plain spindles.

My plan is to use this style of install from the Lowe's DIY website: How to Build a Front Porch Railing.

I'm hoping by sandwiching the balusters between two boards with nothing filling the gaps between them the water will just run right through. And I'll be painting and/or staining before the final install.

And I'm hoping to do flat sawn balusters that are more like these, from the Pretty Handy Girl website.
We're working on our material list right now and we'll be buying them as soon as we figure out the final plan.

6 comments:

  1. John did this railing in 2007. I looked at Google Maps and the railing is holding up very well. Keep it simple.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/TpjR5vE8bVfBJnGT8

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    1. As expected, John's work looks wonderful. We're getting some help so I think the more complicated design will be OK.

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  2. At least you have a plan and can move forward!

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    1. Yup. It's been really hard to find wood though. Apparently DIY projects are not an original idea. LOL

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  3. That's where our railing rotted out too, and we are in hot and dry Texas. I like the flat board idea with cutouts. I did those for a gate one time. So cool.

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    1. Yeah, I wish they'd consulted us before they installed it. I'm hoping the new rails will last at least until after we move. LOL

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