Stair Railings Are Vinyl and PVC

Two materials which work great for front porch stair railings are vinyl and PVC. These materials are wonderful because they do not splinter, they are smooth to the touch, and they are slip-resistance for maximum safety. These materials are also extremely durable, hold up well to weather exposure, and they will not burn your hands during the summer because they do not hold heat like some materials. PVC is resistant to UV light, which will help prevent fading or other color changes due to sun exposure. Both vinyl and PVC come in many different colors and vinyl even comes in wood grain design if you want the look of wood, but the durability and ease of use of vinyl.

Wood front porch stair railings are another option that you may want to consider. Wood is a traditional material for homes that give character like nothing else. There are so many different varieties and species of wood that you can use to make your front porch stair railings. Cedar wood is a wonderful choice, because it offers you decay resistance, as well as being insect resistant. Cedar will also handle moisture much better than other wood species. You will find that there are other wood options that you may want to consider as well, including composite woods. Composite wood front porch stair railings will be durable, water resistant, and will need little maintenance. They are also decay, insect, and UV light resistance, which will help them to stay beautiful for many years. Composite wood does not splinter, either.

Iron front porch stair railings are another material to consider. Iron is widely used as a railing material due to its durability and strength. Iron offers you a beautiful way to help enhance your home. Iron is a wonderful material because it can be made in almost any design that you can think of-from animals to shapes to even letters. It is very durable and will probably outlast your home. You will love the classic look that iron can add to your front porch.

By choosing the right materials for you and your home, you will find that your front porch stair railings can be functional and enhance your home.

Andrew Caxton is the author of many articles on different web publications, with subjects like railing designs published online for http://www.deck-porch-railings.com . A website with tips on vinyl railings.

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Stair Parts - Your Stairway to the Best Stairways

You may not notice it, but you use the stairs almost every day. Even if you live in a bungalow (which often times also has stairs for a relatively elevated level of the house), you may encounter (and use) stairs in work, in the mall, in transport system stations, or wherever it is that you will need a travel vertically.

You might notice that even in this modern world, when a building with one hundred floors can have as many elevators and escalators it needs, stairs are still a necessary or integral part of the main building structure. First, of course is because stairs are really an integral part of the whole structure of a domestic or commercial (high-rise) building, not to mention that it will of course still work (or more appropriately, be used) even without electricity. Second, even the elevators and the escalators are working; you may always find the need to use the "waiting-free" traditional stairs, especially if you will just go up or down a level or two. Moreover, especially during these times when programmed exercise regimen is rare opportunity for the busy worker, ascending and descending stairs are a great exercise in itself! And of course, (these is especially true for houses) a grand-looking stair way is always a good point for your house, which is reminiscent of the elegant stairways that you can only see on mansions and palaces. With these functions, it is absolutely necessary that a stairway is beautiful and sturdy. And one sure way to have both beautiful and stable stairway is to make it using decorative and sturdy stair parts!

There are many different kinds of stair parts. First, is of course in terms of the materials, there are wooden stair parts, metallic stair parts, marble stair parts, concrete stair parts, stone stair parts, among others. They can also differ from their general shape, design, and color. These differences in stair parts of course account for the differences in stairways themselves. You can construct your stairway by using only one type of material, as in the elegant marble stair ways of large houses or you can use a combination of materials, which is common in modern houses. You can focus also have a combination of designs, although more common is the use of only one design. The important thing is that the final design of your stairway will not just be pleasing in your eyes (and of the others who will see it), but also of course is stable enough to withstand constant use (for obvious safety reasons).

Generally, when choosing the Stair Parts for the intended stairway, the design of the whole house is considered, for it is important that the design of the stair parts (and eventually, the stair way) will complement that of the rest of the house, after all, it is an integral part of it.

For more information about Stair Parts feel free to visit: http://www.elegantstairsandwoodfloors.com

Eliza Maledevic Ayson writes for Jump2top.com - SEO Company

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Stair Railings: the Gateway to Your Home

Are the stair railings or hand railings in your home portraying a beauty of craftsmanship and functionality as they are meant to?

Take a good look when you walk into your home. If you have a stair railing going to another level in your home more times then not it is the first thing people will see when they walk into your home. The craftsmanship of a wood stair railing often tells the story of quality for the finish carpentry work throughout the house. Like it or not sometimes this craftsmanship and quality is compared to the type of person you are by some people the same way as being judged for the tidiness of the house or yard or even the type of car you drive. I would venture to say pride means a lot to the vast majority of us and we like to be judged favorably no matter what it is.

Safety First

With all the ways people are being sued these days safety of a hand railing is critical. The railing first needs to meet some standards of strictly enforced codes. These codes are set and enforced by OSHA. OSHA stands for: Occupational Safety and Health Administration and its role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health.

I recently wrote an e-book on how to build your own handrail and these codes are outlined with formulas and techniques that are easily understood to meet these OSHA codes in the process of building a hand railing.

A few of these important OSHA codes that you could easily check with your stair railing to be sure it is in compliance are the height of the railing and the correct spindle spacing. Let's say for example a railing which is built next to a stair way. OSHA wants the very top of the hand railing to be no lower then 36" and no higher then 38". The way to measure this height is to put the start or end of a tape measure at the very outside point of a stair tread next to the railing and measure exactly straight up from that point. Be sure to be going up exactly straight or plumb and the use of a level is recommended to get an accurate reading of the tape measure for this distance between the stair tread and the top of the railing.

The next code that is critical and should not be over looked and also is strictly enforced is the spacing of the balusters or spindles. This is an important one especially if there would be little kids around. OSHA wants these balusters or spindles spaced at no more then 4" apart. For turned or round spindles that means 4" between the skinniest part of the spindles.

Another safety item would be to make sure the stair railing is sturdy and not wobbly. Unfortunately this is not as easy to fix as one would think. Depending on the situation with a little understanding of how a railing is built and a few strategically placed screws you can get it firm within reason regarding this aspect. The use of the right sized screws and how it is screwed is also important in this situation. Sturdiness is one reason why the use of glues and construction adhesive is used in the process of building a hand railing today.

Craftsmanship and Beauty

To enhance the beauty of your stair railing there are a few things you can do. A real easy way is to clean the wood with Murphy’s oil. Furniture polish will also work well just be sure the wood is sealed and the directions are followed with these products.

Another way is to give the wood another coat of varnish. There are many types and brands of varnish out there and different application methods. It would be highly recommended to do some research or just talk to people who sell or work with products in the painting industry. These people are usually pretty knowledgeable and can help out tremendously for the correct amount to buy and the application method for your particular situation.

Other things you may run into with your hand railings are small gaps at the joints of the railing. An example of this may be where the hand railing meets the newel post or other various joints throughout the railing. These small gaps are a result of a multitude of contributing factors and not necessarily bad craftsmanship. To get a better understanding of these factors I recently wrote an article about understanding wood shrinkage and this explains some of the variables which concern these problems. To fix these little imperfections I recommend a wood filler that matches the stain of the wood. The right color wood filler makes these little imperfections virtually invisible.

In conclusion, stair railings create the flow that leads into your home. Be creative while giving attention to the beauty and safety of your hand railings and your efforts will be appreciated and felt for years to come.