Parts of a Staircase

Staircase Parts

Baluster: A vertical member used between railing and tread or floor. Balusters provide support, safety and stability to the balustrade.

Balustrade: The name for a complete assembled rail system.

Bow newel: A large square newel that is hollow inside, used at starting steps or in post to post balustrades.

Box stair: A stair where the stringers house the treads and risers, forming a box like unit.

Bracket: Generally referred to as a tread or stringer bracket; this is a scroll shaped ornament fastened to an open stringer.

Cap: The round portion of a fitting which flares, permitting the fitting to set onto the top of a newel post. Cap fittings are used in an over the post balustrade system.

Cove molding: A trim molding used to finish the joint where the face of the riser and the underside of the tread join.

Easing: That portion of a fitting which curves upward or downward, permitting the handrail to deviate from the rake of the staircase. Easing create a smooth transition, so that the hand can glide across the rail as it changes direction.

Fillet: A thin molding that is fitted into plowed handrail and shoe rail between balusters.

Gooseneck: A fitting used where the rake rail must rise vertically to meet a balcony or landing. Goosenecks can also facilitate directional changes.

Hand rail: The rail used as a hand hold or support in balustrade systems.

Landing newel: The longer newel post used at landing and balconies where the rake rail changes direction or pitch and then continues on. The length of the newel is governed by the number of risers at the point of vertical transition.

Landing tread: A nosed and rabbeted tread like molding used to form a finished surface at landing and balconies.

Level quarter turn: A fitting that permits level handrail to turn 90 or 135 degrees, available with or without cap.

Level rail: Handrail used on the level portion of a balustrade.

Newel: A vertical post used to start a post to post balustrade, also used at points of vertical and directional change. Newel posts provide the majority of the structural rigidity of a balustrade system.

Open stair: A staircase where the stringer has been cut out so that the stair treads are exposed on one or both sides of the staircase.

Over the post: A balustrade system which uses fittings on top of newel posts, creating an uninterrupted handrail.

Plow: The channel in the bottom of a handrail and the top of a shoe rail that receives square balusters. A plow is finished with fillet.

Post to post: A balustrade system where handrail is fitted between newel posts. The flow of the handrail is interrupted by the decorative top of the newel post.

Rail fitting: Fittings are carved components whose profile matches a specific handrail. Fittings are assembled in various configurations to effect directional and elevation changes in over the post and post to post balustrades.

Rake: The angle or pitch of a stairs ascent to an upper level. The rake is established by the rise and run of the staircase.

Rake rail: Hand rail used on the ascending portion of a balustrade which matches the pitch or rise of the staircase.

Riser: The vertical component of a staircase that faces each step between stringer and tread, upon which the tread rests.

Rosette: A decorative wall plate, larger than the handrail profile, which may be round or oval. Rosettes serve as a decorative handrail anchor when handrail dead ends at a wall.

Shoe rail: A flat molding with a linear channel which receives square bottom balusters for assembly. The channel between balusters is then finished with fillet.

Starting easing: A fitting that starts a balustrade and introduces the user to the upward travel of the stair.

Starting newel: The vertical post used to start a post to post balustrade.

Starting step: A decorative first step of a staircase. Generally includes a tread and riser which is larger in length and depth than the basic stair. Design options include bull nosed, quarter circle and half circle patterns.

Stringer: A side member of a stair that provides structural support and a finished face. It is generally machined to receive the risers and treads for box stairs. In open staircases, the risers are mitered so that finished end treads rest on the mitered riser.

Tread: The horizontal component of a staircase upon which you walk.

Volute: An ornamental handrail fitting used to grace the opening of a staircase. A volute is carved to turn away from the opening in a nautilus like shape, resting on a volute newel and four or five balusters.

Wall rail: Handrail fastened directly to the wall with a mounting bracket. In a box staircase it may be the primary handrail. In a full balustrade a wall rail would be supplementary.

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Parts of a Staircase

Types of Hammered Balusters

There are four types of hammering available on our iron balusters. Each type is different and unique. Two of them are machine hammered and two of them are hand hammered. They all look beautiful. Read about the different types of hammering below and what type of home they can be used with.

Tuscan Square Hammered

Our line of Tuscan Square Hammered iron balusters feature a 9/16″ square bar that is hand hammered on all 4 sides and each baluster is truly unique. No two balusters will have the same hammering. Due to the variance in the hand hammering, this baluster could occasionally be as wide as 5/8″ or as small as 1/2″. For this reason, there are different shoes required for Tuscan parts to account for this variance. This style goes well in rustic style homes.

Tuscan Round Hammered

Tuscan Round Hammered iron balusters feature a 9/16″ round bar that is hammered with long and thin hammerings. Think of it like being hammered into a round shape. Similar to the Tuscan Square, each baluster is unique and will not look exactly the same as the others. Similar to the Tuscan Square, these use different shoes to account for the variance in the hammering. This style also goes well in rustic style homes.

Gothic Hammered

Gothic Hammered iron balusters feature a 9/16″ square baluster with a stamp type hammering on all 4 sides of the baluster. It’s easier to view the baluster hammering than to explain it, so view the photo below. Every baluster will have the same hammering in the Gothic style. These go well in Gothic Style homes as well as..

Santa Fe Hammered

Santa Fe Hammered iron balusters feature a 9/16″ square baluster with a hammering on all 4 corners that give the baluster a unique wavy design. View the photo below for a better look. Every Santa Fe hammered baluster will look the same as this is a machine hammered bar. Santa Fe go well in … style homes.

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Types of Hammered Balusters

Hollow vs. Solid Iron Balusters

Hollow vs. Solid Iron Balusters – Strength

Solid vs. Hollow Iron Balusters

What is the difference between hollow and solid wrought iron balusters? This is probably one of the most, if not the most asked question I receive about our products.

In terms of strength, both hollow and solid pass the strength testing required by building codes. The hollow is actually made out of a higher grade steel than the solid which allows it to remain strong. Your railing system will be just as strong using hollow as it would be using solid. There will be no difference in swaying, dipping or support in general.

Hollow vs. Solid Iron Balusters – Visuals

Visually there are minor differences in the two products. The solid balusters have sharper corners (on the square products) and the hollow have a slightly more rounded corner. See the photo below as an example. The difference in corners only applies to the square balusters. Round balusters all look the same and you can easily mix hollow and solid without any visual difference.

Some finishes, such as oil rubbed bronze & copper vein, are thick enough that you could easily mix the two styles and never notice (although we suggest you always stay with one type of baluster and stick with it.) We use the same measurements on all hollow and solid. Every dimension from the bars to the twists will be the exact same.  The only real visual difference is the corners on the square balusters.

Hollow s. Solid Iron Balusters – Price & Installation

Because hollow iron balusters use less materials, the cost per baluster is less than solid by an average of $1.00 per baluster. If you have a fairly large staircase and need over 100 balusters, I would always suggest buying the hollow and saving money on the cost of parts. In addition to being cheaper in price, they are also cheaper to ship! The average weight on a solid baluster is 3 pounds where a hollow baluster is half of that. You can save almost half the price on shipping just by switching to hollow!

The installation method is the same on both hollow and solid, except that some people prefer the hollow as it is lighter and easier to handle and easier to cut. But with an experienced stair installer, installing solid or hollow would take the same amount of time.

Hollow Iron Baluster Photo

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Hollow vs. Solid Iron Balusters

Cheap Staircase Parts for Remodeling

Wholesale Staircase Parts

Wholesale Stair Parts

CheapStairParts.com has been in business since 2006 and currently ships about 300 orders a month to customers building new stairs and performing staircase remodels. We are not a fly-by-night, drop-shipping, two guys in a basement company. We have our own warehouse located in Houston, Tx where we stock all of our products.

Since we stock all of our stair products direct from the manufacturer, we are able to offer lower prices than most other online stair companies because there is no additional product markups from the middleman. This allows us to offer contractor discounts to repeat customers and even offer price matching from our competitors.

Fast Shipping Staircase Parts

We have some of the fastest shipping around. Typically orders placed before 11am CST will ship the same business day, while every other order will ship next business day. Considering some of these stair remodel projects have an extensive list of parts required, next business day shipping is amazing! We stock all of our parts and our own warehouse crew will pull the order and pack it for shipping, giving us better control over lead times.

Stair Parts Houston, Tx

We use UPS ground for orders under 150 pounds and this takes 3 to 5 business days transit time. Second day and Overnight options are available for orders under 150 pounds. Any order over 150 pounds will go on a pallet and shipped with a Freight company such as Fedex, YRC or UPS Freight. Freight shipping also takes 3 to 5 days just about anywhere in the U.S.

Custom Design Staircase Parts

The only stair parts we have that may take longer to ship are the custom staircase panels. We order the panels on a per order basis direct from the manufacture. This causes an extra 1 to 2 day lead time for the order to ship. In the past we have also partnered up with wood mills to provide custom wood stair parts but this service was discontinued a few years back. We are currently in negotiations with a few custom wood companies to once again provide custom wood stair parts. Custom wood orders typically take 2 to 3 weeks to get made and an extra few days transit time to arrive.

Custom Staircase Parts

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Cheap Staircase Parts for Remodeling

5% Off Non-Clearance Parts Summer 2013

Enjoy 5% off all stair parts not already on clearance! Iron balusters, newels, handrails, treads, accessories… Everything!

Enter the coupon code  “  summer2013  ” during checkout to receive the discount!

As always, free shipping on orders over $1,575. Free local delivery to Houston, Tx. 10% Discount for customers who have previously ordered at least $500 with us. Call for more information 866.727.9356

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5% Off Non-Clearance Parts Summer 2013