Anyone done a glass stair/balustrade? (new: Stain/finish)

[Setch]

I have an two open tread staircases in my house, and a 16 week old baby who is threatening to get mobile soon, so I need to address the 1st floor balustrade as a matter of urgency. At the moment is just a slightly flimsy handrail, and an open drop onto the staircase, closed (mostly) by a sofa.

The plan is to replace the rail with a 45 x 95 dark hardwood rail (to match the stair rails) and fit 3 toughened glass panels, embedded in the rail at the top, and a footer at the bottom, as I dislike the brackets used if the glass is not embedded. Eventually I'll do similar with the stairs, as the existing wrought iron spindles are A; Minging & B; Epic dust catchers.

Anyone undertaken anything similar? Recommended supplier for keenly priced glass? Any other pitfalls to look out for?

 

[Rorschach]

I have been to peoples houses who have glass balustrades/stair rails like you suggest, even though they are very clean tidy people, without except the glass looked crappy, it took an awful lot of cleaning and get smeary and dirty almost instantly, and they didn't have children or pets. Just something to bear in mind

 

[katellwood]

If you go down the glass route, try these, not used them myself but people who have suggest they are reasonably priced

http://www.mirrorsandglass.co.uk/shop/

http://www.forsythglazing.co.uk/#axzz4Apt4sjcx

 

[Doug71]

Never used them myself but heard good things about Stairbox, they would supply everything you need including glass but probably not the cheapest for it. Their website might give you some ideas if you have not seen it.

https://www.stairbox.com/

Doug

 

[akdaka]

Hi

I did mine a couple of years ago using the clips you dislike, with white oak from Neville Johnson and zip bolts for the fixings. I reused the existing newel posts. Check theses are upright and square as mine had twisted over 50 years. It meant cutting the ends carefully to get a good fit.

For the glass I spoke to a couple of local suppliers to me and asked about balustrading glass which is toughened and comes in different widths, normally 8 or 10mm. You may want to consider asking for the marking to be on the edge of the glass so it wont be seen. I think it was referred to as furniture marking. It cost a little extra but was worth it.
I made templates for all the glass to ensure the fits were spot on, especially those going down the stairs.

In terms of marks on the glass I have two young children and we clean it weekly, but to be honest it has not always really needed it.

Good luck

 

[Corset]

I have done a glass balustrade at home using the sandwich style chrome blanks. Got them off the internet for about £3.00 each. I made a templates out of 6mm mdf took it to the glass fitters and they made it up. Cost about £300 for one flight with 10mm toughened glass and softened edges.
Had it for about 5 years with no problems and no marks, got a 6 and 8 year old kid so not careful users.
Fantastic i would do it again if given the choice.
In my last house i embedded them in a routed groouve in timber, embedded in silicon. Its rock solid but it squeaks when you walked in the hallway due to timber movement. That is something i was keen to avoid hence the clips. Mind you i could have just a poor job last time.
owen

 

[Setch]

Thanks for the input guys, lots to mull over.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

It has always struck me that the school of hotel design is a good place to start. At a mid/upper level they, like offices and shopping centres, want visually attractive, functional, cost efficient fittings that require minimal maintenance over the long term.

So unless you have a particular liking for wood (which oddly is why this forum exists) then glass may be the preferred option. You could also use a glass fixing system for wood panels if you chose (varnish or paint) cut from plywood to the exact dimensions to save both money and installation time using existing newels and handrail!!

I've now convinced myself - last year repainting a dark handrail, newels etc to brighten up an otherwise dark hallway took 5 coats with rub down in between - a complete pain.

 

[Setch]

Right, so I've done the woodwork, and glass has arrived and been test fitted. Before I can fit it finally I need to do some staining/varnishing.

The original parts of the stairs are mahogany, and being early 70s probably genuine swietenia. The new woodwork is rather less lovely stuff, meranti from the local bullet depot. Nice enough to work with, but not exactly a close colour match for the mahogany.

So, I want to strain or dye the meranti, but I will also want to recolour the original stair in places, as sunlight had bleached it badly, and it all needs a strip and sand to put right poor original machining (planer marks galore etc) and měny years of sloppy revarnishing with little care or prep work.

I'm thinking I'll need a dye or stain which can be wiped ok n (loads of nooks and crannies) and be given different numbers of coats/applications to even out colour across the board, followed by a nice durable to coat, preferably satin not high gloss.

Any suggestions? Anyone trodden this path before? A neighbour refinished his stairs and they look really good, but I forgot to ask what he used, and he's moved away now.

 

[AndyT]

The traditional finish for mahogany, to darken it and colour match pieces, is potassium permanganate. You dissolve it in water and brush it on. At first it's an alarming purple colour but it soon becomes a rich reddish brown. You can repeat the application to get a darker shade.
I used it on my Victorian chair steps project and took a few photos at the time. Start about here

post726008.html#p726008

 

[Setch]

Thanks Andy! Not sure I'll go that route, though the colour is very nice in your photos, I'm not sure I fancy spreading something so chemically aggressive over a large area indoors.