Projects

White newels with oak rails and iron balusters

Replaced the standard yellow oak wood spindle railings with a new contemporary banister, featuring custom mission newel posts and Versatile Knuckle satin black balusters. Red Oak handrails stained to match the cherry-brown flooring, and Stair treads re-finished to also match beautifully. Treads sanded/refinished with new landing and carpet bull-nosing by Gabriel Flooring.

White Mission newels with oak rails and re-finished Treads

Ultra Modern Horizontal Stainless-Steel Bar Staircase

Designer custom diamond staircase

Starter step volute turn-out

Lake Zurich track home being remodeled into classic Barrington style. We gave it a grande staircase with a rounded starter tread and full volute turn-out for more foyer room at the front door.. New red oak treads with open side stringer. 8500/8100 profile Handrails with Colonial series wood balusters and 4900 series newel posts. A touch of stylish wainscoting and trim to frame out the space. New flooring and painting are next on the agenda.

Modern White Oak Horizontal

All White Oak stained to match the premium pre-finished flooring, Horizontal steel satin black balusters with custom routered newel posts, and contemporary 6084 profile handrail. Ends of all sections have half-newels at walls.
Stair Treads and risers all solid white oak hardwood. Accent wall finished with shiplap for a classic modern vibe.

Modern Railings needed

This townhome desperately needed some stair railings. Modern, minimalistic, with steel horizontal balusters were requested. We matched the floor color using the customer's flooring color mix. We used 6084 profile rail and terminated at the walls with half-posts. Custom newel crown tops added some contemporary flair. The flooring edges were transitioned to kneewall base-rails for a continuous flow.

Modern Railings added

All Iron to Oak n' Steel

An old exterior style iron banister sadly graced this space, offering a tempting and dangerous opportunity for toddler crawl-through (not to mention serious IL building code deficiencies, but mom and dad didnt care so much about that). We started with an inspiration photo, removed the hazardous eye-sore, then built a beautiful banister system with painted box posts, tread-matching oak handrails and Satin-black Versatile Knuckle steel balusters. Inspiration-totally nailed it.

Gel-stained and new iron

We sanded and refinished the stair treads and painted all the riser and stringer oak for a new clean contemporary look. The railings were upgraded to iron balusters and the old finished oak was gel stained for a perfect color match to the new upstairs flooring (lower flooring to be done by homeowner in future). What a dramatic change. We are especially proud of the excellent wood finish by Gabriel on the treads and poles, and how beautifully the newels and handrails match overall. Stunning!

Open Treads and new railings - After

Open Treads and new railings

Staircase revitalized

A rickety old railing: rails too low, starter newel loose, badly needed a complete makeover. After the customer removed the carpet, we started by building a decorative stringer on the outside-wall and installing new faux tread caps and refinished the swell-step (thanks Gabe), all sized to receive a new carpet runner. Next the starter newel post was secured to the floor and we raised the handrail up to code, gel-stained it (along with all the upper balcony railings), and added Gothic style oil-rubbed-bronze steel balusters for a stately design. The wainscot, carpet, and painting were done by other contractors. What a phenomenal new entry foyer! This one the before/after pictures really tell the story.

New Construction custom railings

Built railings to complement the contemporary gray stone decor of a home build-in-progress. Two-tier staircase leading up to balconies overlooking the foyer and greatroom. The stairs were built by the home contractor and we added the Kneewall oak caps and floor edge-nosing baserails. Iron is Satin Black Twist and Basket and Railings are solid red oak with Ebony stain.

Opened-Up Staircase and Large Balcony

Converted a "closed" staircase in to an Open stringer and upgrading everything including 10 sections of balcony on loft overlooking the lower level. Landing flooring and base-rails installed and finished by Gabriel flooring, all the rest built by 1st-Service. Notice the perfect stain match to the recently re-finished floors.

Grande Staircase with Juliette balcony

This majestic home had a grande Juliette balcony in the front foyer and long balconies overlooking the staircases and family rooms. All the wood was golden oak with large white wood spindles (some breaking). We completed the flooring by refinishing the treads and landings to match all the newly finished hardwood floors (done by Excel flooring). Then we blended in the railing system with a beautiful hand finished gel overstain and new "Mega" 3/4" scroll, basket, and twist iron balusters (175 in all!). Erik's Painting Enterprises finished off the stringers and risers, and up went the tapestries. Coram Deo!

Red oak stained to match Alder trim

Updated a very outdated guardrail in a split-level home, and put new hardwood treads on the stairs. We stained the oak to match the Alder trim being added throughout the house, using a mix of colonial maple and gunstock with a flat finish. 

Steps and Guardrails - match Alder wood in home

Staircase Makeover

Staircase renovation with flooring

Complete remodel of staircase, balcony system, and loft/hallway flooring. All wood was gel-stained to match or complement the style of surrounding furniture pieces and existing flooring. Carpet replaced with Oak hardwood, wooden spindles replaced with Satin-black iron twist balusters. Risers, stringers and trim all painted to match other trim moulding. Dramatic transformation!

Staircase makeover with flooring

Staircase Rescue Renovation

This staircase was started by a flooring company that didnt have the expertise to properly install retro-treads, so they left it partly (and poorly) finished. 1st-Service came to the rescue on the treads and risers, then built a whole new railing system with contemporary horizontal balusters and hardwood railings.

Modernized stairs - contemporary gray

Turned a dated oak staircase into a modern match to a whole home remodel.

12 section balcony and stairs

Showing before and after pictures. Customer wanted to get rid of old style wood spindles and wobbly posts for a solid modern style oak railing system with iron balusters. Hand stained Sedona Red and finished to match cherry laminate flooring. All new oak stained base and skirt trim included.

Oak spindles to Steel Balusters

Replaced the old oak wood spindles with modern iron balusters - twist and basket in satin black finish. Stair run and balcony overlooking foyer.

Steel Baluster Installation

Stair Treads, Risers, and Landing Treadbox

Customer had carpet removed, ready for us to install Retro-Treads and new riser covers - Treads were purchased by customer from Lowe's, not the quality level I usually use, so had to sand out scuff marks and do plenty of minor patching. Custom stain color match to existing hand-rails. Starting/Landing tread re-built from scratch with kit, modified to fit on new step support. Project turned out beautifully.

Staircase Remodel

We remodeled this staircase and balconies by replacing the painted wood spindles with Iron - Hammered Gothic single knuckles alternating with plain, with some extra double knuckles in the balconies to balance the pattern.  Satin Black finish. We Gel-stained all the posts and rails to give them a richer finish like the stair treads. Customer was extremely pleased with the result.

Staircase Remodel - Gel Stained wood and iron balusters

New modern railings

Built all-oak railing system stained to match flooring. Iron balusters are twist and double basket in Ash Gray finish. Stain is Antique Walnut. A nice combination.

New modern railing system

Upgrade of Builder's Staircase

Oak Hardwood Treads

Replaced carpeted stairs to finished lower level to match the decor of the house. We removed the existing thick tread planks and installed 1 1/16" Red Oak Hardwood treads stained to match railings and flooring. Capped and painted the risers and stringers for a modern yet traditional finished look.

Upgrade old stairs for home-sale

Carpeted stairs and landing with outdated all-oak railings, replaced with a new modern wood & Iron banister and hardwood treads and flooring. Once the trim and painting is done prospective buyers will be greeted in style when they enter the front door.

Modern Craftsman Staircase upgrade - AFTER

Removed an old fashioned runner, repaired a broken tread and sanded and refinished all the oak treads and painted the risers and stringer. We did a custom stain mix to color match to the recently installed flooring. Finally we added a new craftsman style railing with 5060 square balusters. Another impressive transformation!

Modern Craftsman Staircase upgrade

Small Removable Stair Railing

Railing was "removed" to move furniture upstairs and left off. Customer wanted a basic removable railing like the Example picture, but then decided more style was worth the investment. We built them a new Signature railing using the signature series newel post and 1-3/4" signature balusters, this one also "Removable" but can be put back on easily afterward. We also installed a wall rail up the stairs for safety.

Gel-stained from yellow to Java keeping grain

Customer installed new beautiful darker hardwood flooring but now had a staircase that didnt match at all. We used our proprietary gel-staining process to transform the yellow wood in to a beautiful java-like match to complement the flooring. New iron balusters replaced the dated wood spindles, and we refinished the starter swell step (thanks Gabe) for a finishing touch.

Gel Stained wood and Iron Balusters

Craftsman weathered oak

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