Staircases in Richmond, MI

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.