Front Stair Restoration

Here are the beginnings of the restoration of

the front stairs which were taken out in the 1960s

to make a bedroom for Grandma Love, when she

could no longer negotiate stairs to her bedroom on

the second floor.  All traces of the original stairs have

vanished except for this one newel post, which is shown 

leaning against its new counterparts, and which remained

in place where the top of the stairs met a landing that launched

into a short stairway to the second floor hallway. We now have

matching newel posts, along with craftsman-style square balusters

and a bread rail handrail (so called because it looks like the rounded, 

squat top of a loaf of bread).  These details have been copied from a

reproduction Sears Robuck catalog that our wonderful contractor, Joe 

Hutton, uses for period details.  (see below)

(I realize this photo is hard to read, so let me just say that

square baluster stock doesn't cost $.02 per each anymore!)

Here's a photo of the old newel post still in situ at

the top of the stairs.  The red circle emphasizes the mark left

by the original handrail (as seen in the photo from the Sears

Catalog), which gave them the clue as to the shape that the

renovated stair rail needed to have.  This photo was taken from

someone standing in a second-floor bedroom (which will become 

an office for us).  All of these open spaces that you see were walled off 

after the stairs were removed (as referred to, above), with the exception

of the stairs beyond the open doorway, which lead down to the kitchen and 

which can't be seen from this angle.  Those kitchen stairs will remain. 

When the stair renovation is complete I will post more photos. 

Stay tuned!