Expert: Joseph G. Swallow - 6/12/2009

Question
Hi,We just removed carpeting on our stairs and had them refinished. I plan to keep the existing railing and banisters which are brass and iron.  The problem is that the attachment of the banisters to the stairs is quite unfinished since it was buried in carpeting.  The attachment is a plate with two bolts.  Is there a way to finish that off nicely?  I do not want to buy new balusters.  Thanks for your help.

Answer
One option, if workable, is iron shoes.  These are frequently in use for steel/iron/metal attachments to the floor.  You would have to unbolt the attachment, lift it high enough to slide on shoe, epoxy it at the contact to the floor, drop the shoe and tighten it to the baluster.  The shoes come in 1/2", 9/16", 5/8", 3/4" and 1-3/16".

Here's a link to a typical shoe:  http://www.mantels-stairs.com/Catalog_i10236690.html?catId=357304

If this doesn't work, you can build a wood "boot" out of oak, maple, poplar, by taking a small base material, notching out for the plate, and nail it all together around the baluster or newel.

Let me know if any of these ideas work for.