Outdoor metal stair railing advice?

[Vtshopdog]

We’re having new concrete steps installed and I need a metal hand rail for the lower 5 step set.
Not touching the concrete work but I own all the tools to install a new railing and would be fun mini project.

Anyone have input for sourcing? Big range of options: I can get local custom fab for something like $120+ per foot (x6’ = $700) or cheap out on Amazon for a junky looking kit at $59.99 or big box stuff somewhere in between. Seems like there should be a quality prefab option in the market.

Would like something simple but decent quality. If anyone has brand or vendor recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[Packard]

There are some, but not many, suppliers of custom metal railing on-line. I would imagine that it would require some accurate dimensions to fabricate.

Errors in measurements or fabrication would be difficult or expensive to remedy. It might be an excellent excuse to buy a welder.

Here is my search: https://www.google.com/search?q=cus...s-wiz-serp&dlnr=1&sei=t73_Z8zRN869ptQP-baFyQQ

 

[Cheese]

I fabricated a stainless railing for the upstairs loft area. I purchased 10' long sticks of 304 stainless from a local steel house and then delivered them to a local metal finisher and had them center-less ground which produced the equivalent of a #4B brushed finish.

The individual elbows, tees, brackets & bases were purchased from Wagner. They're available in 304 & 316 SST and also aluminum.

I wanted to produce a fully welded/ground/brushed look but after visiting several commercial sites, I realized that even the pros can't duplicate those results. So I opted for assembling individual pieces and actually prefer the clean joints versus the wavy, bumpy lumpy welded joints.

Pipe and Tube Metal Elbows for Handrail | Wagner

Wagner has pipe and tube elbows available in aluminum, brass, bronze, stainless steel, and more. Order from an industry leader. Shop today.

shop.wagnercompanies.com

 

[peter halle]

I fabricated a stainless railing for the upstairs loft area. I purchased 10' long sticks of 304 stainless from a local steel house and then delivered them to a local metal finisher and had them center-less ground which produced the equivalent of a #4B brushed finish.

The individual elbows, tees, brackets & bases were purchased from Wagner. They're available in 304 & 316 SST and also aluminum.

I wanted to produce a fully welded/ground/brushed look but after visiting several commercial sites, I realized that even the pros can't duplicate those results. So I opted for assembling individual pieces and actually prefer the clean joints versus the wavy, bumpy lumpy welded joints.

Pipe and Tube Metal Elbows for Handrail | Wagner

Wagner has pipe and tube elbows available in aluminum, brass, bronze, stainless steel, and more. Order from an industry leader. Shop today.

shop.wagnercompanies.com

Pretty house and railings!

Peter

 

[Cheese]

Pretty house and railings!

Peter

Thanks Peter...not trying to tank this thread as everyone knows I'm good at...... but this is what that same wall looked like before I decided to add the 6 windows and have at it. I do everything myself as I definitely have champagne taste but I only have a beer budget.

To be honest...part of the impetus for my postings is to generate an enthusiasm within individuals to stretch and accomplish goals through whatever methods they are comfortable with and achieve results they never expected to achieve. What's wrong with that?

And here's JoJo contemplating life on top of a 6' step ladder that he climbed rung by rung.

 

[peter halle]

Thanks Peter...not trying to tank this thread as everyone knows I'm good at...... but this is what that same wall looked like before I decided to add the 6 windows and have at it. I do everything myself as I definitely have champagne taste but I only have a beer budget.

To be honest...part of the impetus for my postings is to generate an enthusiasm within individuals to stretch and accomplish goals through whatever methods they are comfortable with and achieve results they never expected to achieve. What's wrong with that?

And here's JoJo contemplating life on top of a 6' step ladder that he climbed rung by rung.

Nothing wrong with that. I showed my wife the images and the before - she stated "That is a marked improvement!

Peter

 

[kevinculle]

I bought a pair of railings for our entryway from

Indoor & Outdoor Wrought Iron Handrails | DIY Handrail

Fortin DIY Handrail is the strongest & most reliable wrought iron handrail on the market. Ready to ship to your home or business, and arrives in 1-3 days.

www.diyhandrail.com

They are made in USA near Columbus, OH and the owner Joe is very helpful. Send him a few pics and measurements and he will make sure that that the railing you get works. They cost a good bit more than the China imports on Amazon, but I think they are a good value. Here's a pic of mine installed.

 

[Vtshopdog]

Thanks Peter...not trying to tank this thread as everyone knows I'm good at...... but this is what that same wall looked like before I decided to add the 6 windows and have at it. I do everything myself as I definitely have champagne taste but I only have a beer budget.

To be honest...part of the impetus for my postings is to generate an enthusiasm within individuals to stretch and accomplish goals through whatever methods they are comfortable with and achieve results they never expected to achieve. What's wrong with that?

And here's JoJo contemplating life on top of a 6' step ladder that he climbed rung by rung.

Cheese I'd rather look at pics of your handiwork than the stair railing pages I've been viewing. Beautiful work as always.
Could see myself going down the DIY rabbit hole but trying to avoid that for the moment. Hoping for maybe something modular that I could customize just to have a simple project as I've been laid up following a major knee surgery at end of February

KevinC - Those pics are helpful, your guy likely similar to my local custom fab shops. Freight would likely kill this as an option but now feel I should reach out to my local sources.


Concrete guys finished pouring yesterday and I think we hit the jackpot with this contractor. They were expensive and we got what we paid for (funny how that works??) They were fast and did a really good job.

Was kinda fun to watch them work:
Monday they broke it all out and worked at steady, business like pace. No lollygagging but not frantic either. Brutally hard labor IMO.
Tuesday they built forms and everything was very deliberate. Having an eye for things, honestly some of the miters on their stair forms were really pretty tight. Lot's of layout fussing with levels, then boom, they would fab next group of forms in no time.
Wednesday they poured and watching them the crew was "in the zone" clearly their whole world consisted of pushing wet concrete around and nothing else. Commented on this later to the boss and he confirmed that pouring for them is what I would call a zen type moment
(LOL: His point of reference involved attending heavy metal concerts....)

 

[kevinculle]

Vtshopdog the rails I showed are priced including shipping in the 48 States. The rails in my pic were $308 each delivered to my door and delivery time was 3 days from order submission.