My stairs squeak and move. Is that structural?

Almost never. In a house of this age the usual cause is the tread working loose against the riser or the stringer after a century of use, and it is fixed by re-securing from above or below rather than by rebuilding. A moving handrail is normally the newel connection rather than the rail itself. We assess it first and quote the actual repair, which is frequently much less than people are expecting.

Can you match old turned balusters?

Yes. We take a sound original as the pattern and turn replacements to match, so a few broken or missing balusters do not mean replacing the whole balustrade. Matching a limited number is far cheaper than a rebuild and it keeps the original character of the stair, which is the reason to do it that way.

Richmond, Macomb County, MI

Staircases in Richmond, MI

Name: Maceri Woodworking
Address: 33628 Bayview Dr, Chesterfield, MI, 48047, US
Telephone: (586) 823-2887
Price range: $$

Two staircases is the farmhouse signature. Most older Richmond houses were built with a front stair for the family and a narrow back stair off the kitchen for service, and the two were deliberately finished to different standards.

Keeping that difference is the whole job. The front stair in a house of this period has a simple turned or square baluster, a plain newel with a chamfer or a cap, and a handrail without much section — restoring or rebuilding it means matching that restraint rather than upgrading it to something grander. We turn replacement balusters to match surviving originals, repair rather than replace newels where the post is sound, and re-secure the rail properly, since a hundred and thirty years of use usually leaves the whole assembly moving. Loose, squeaking and worn treads are the other constant: treads can be repaired or replaced individually and the squeak is normally the tread moving against the riser rather than anything structural, which is a much smaller job than people fear. The back stair is steeper, narrower and often enclosed between two walls with no balustrade at all. It usually needs a proper handrail for safety and better lighting rather than decoration, and it should stay plain. In the newer subdivisions we do the modern work — iron balusters, box newels, tread conversions.

Old stairs get assessed before anything is quoted, because what looks like a rebuild is often a repair and we would rather tell you that at the measure. We match and turn components at our Chesterfield shop.

Richmond is a straight run north from our Chesterfield shop up M-19, close enough that we work there regularly.

Staircases questions from Richmond homeowners

My stairs squeak and move. Is that structural?: Almost never. In a house of this age the usual cause is the tread working loose against the riser or the stringer after a century of use, and it is fixed by re-securing from above or below rather than by rebuilding. A moving handrail is normally the newel connection rather than the rail itself. We assess it first and quote the actual repair, which is frequently much less than people are expecting.
Can you match old turned balusters?: Yes. We take a sound original as the pattern and turn replacements to match, so a few broken or missing balusters do not mean replacing the whole balustrade. Matching a limited number is far cheaper than a rebuild and it keeps the original character of the stair, which is the reason to do it that way.