Painter getting ready to paint staircase...

Trudijane

Hi,
It occurred to me that prior to painting my staircase walls - I will probably have to remove the two long wooden handrails that are screwed to the wall on each side of the staircase which is fine.

However, in looking at them, I decided that this area needs as much space as it can get (everywhere) and thought that maybe I could buy another type of handrail - that screw in the wall and put it on one side of the stairs and not both sides. Maybe a thinner metal one.

I don't like the old-fashioned look of the wooden ones anyway, and I'd they are kind of clunky. Do you have to have some custom made? Or do they have similar ones with a rod that can be screwed into the wall, similar to the wood ones?

Thanks!
Trudijane

Ole34

go to homedepot and see what they have...........when you get them i will tell you how to paint them

Trudijane

Hi,
Thanks for responding.

What if they are metal handrails instead of wood?

I guess I could paint the existing ones "white" which might look nice, but it seem that I could ask the painter who is painting if he could do that.

I'm also wondering if whatever rails I use - could they be screwed in where the previous hardware exists, so I could do it myself?

Trudijane

Ole34

i cant tell you about attaching the rails cause im not there..........but if you get metal ones you can paint them.............scratch them up with sandpaper then prime with oil Zinsser cover stain then 2 coats finish...............your painter shouldnt charge you much if its just a rail .......2 mins each coat tops .......simple work, if i was the painter i wouldnt even charge you as long as you got the materials........but im not your painter :-)

Trudijane

Where are you? Maybe you can be! What I'm saying is that if they were nice simple metal handrails (I'd need a long one and a short one on one side instead of 2) why would I need to paint them at all?
Thanks.

Ole34

you dont have to paint anything inside your house if you dont want to..........nothing wrong with bare metal handrails.......if you have company over and they complain just say this to them .............''you pay for it big mouth'' lol ..............serious though, if you like them un painted then keep them that way.........paint will only add a decorative touch........me personally i like bare metal

Ole34

if you a leaky roof over your staircase then i would advise to prime and paint them lol ..............rust isnt a good look

Ole34

im in PHILADELPHIA btw ...................city of brotherly love.......sometimes