With the development of design approach to the arrangement of all elements of the premises, the compatibility with the interior became as important as quality and performance characteristics of the material used. The most important details determining the style and nature of the house include lamps, textile, stair elements (if any, particularly wall handrails for the stairs). How to choose the right railings for the stairs?
Railings as an essential element
For the premises with several floors, an important stage is the choice of stairs, which would not only combine several floors and provide free movement but also create a unique concept of the whole premises.
Besides the choice of the staircase, an important element are railings for the stairs, which are especially prone to wear and tear in the operation. To maintain the original appearance of these elements, you should carefully choose the material they will be made of.
What are the handrails for the stairs made of?
Due to the technical progress, modern building market offers a lot of materials that fit perfectly into any interior. Due to their special properties, such as durability and wear resistance, they show excellent results during the use of different structures and products.
As for the manufacture of stair railings, we can highlight several materials of various origins. Handrails can be made of:
- Wood (usually, noble sorts of trees, such as oak and redwood).
- Polymeric materials (PVC and other types of polymers).
- Stainless steel (steel with high content of chromium).
- Profile alloyed products.
Such materials are wear-resistant, and due to the special treatment technologies, you can give them different shapes and properties (shaped surfaces, patterned carving, texture and necessary roughness). Such railings for the stairs have different prices, as the manufacturing technology of each material depends on the length and complexity of technological cycle. As the materials have different cost and properties, we should assess each of them in detail and weigh the pros and cons.
Wood – tribute to the classic or the best option?
As is known, wood has long been the main building material (not only for the railings but also for all the other elements of the house). In our time, the price of wood is very high, as its production technology has a long and complicated cycle. With strict observance of processing parameters, such material provides quality of implementation of all elements of structure. In that regard, the price of material for the railings is higher than that of metal or polymeric materials. The photos show that the railings for the stairs made of oak or redwood make the interiors look elegant and presentable. Moreover, you can build these railings with your own hands with the use of wood carving, which make them unique. Even though wood impress by its design opportunities, its price is quite high. Therefore, you should also consider the other options, available to all.
PVC plastic as an alternative to the expensive materials
Polymeric materials often serve as a main finishing element of almost all interiors. This material have become widespread due to its low price and predominantly positive characteristics. PVC plastic is an excellent solution for the railings for the stairs, as you can give any shape to this material due to the flexibility of its processing. Another great advantage is that you can make any texture on the order. Due to this set of properties, polyvinylchloride will fit perfectly into any design.
In the photo, you can see that plastic railings have a quite attractive texture and pleasant bends. They are made of artificial wood or with the use of photo printing.
Plastic has the following advantages:
- low price;
- ability to create different shapes of section;
- choice of texture;
- wide range of use.
The only drawback of plastic is the softness of material, as it is vulnerable to the scratches on the surface, which will be especially noticeable when contaminated with dust.
Stainless steel as an alternative to wood and plastic
In many interiors, designers gladly use the handrails made of stainless steel. This steel is widely used in the manufacture of internal and external stairs of the restaurants, cinema halls and shops, as stainless steel contains a considerable amount of chromium (this material is resistant to corrosion and characterized by the beautiful and bright metal gloss).
Handrails for the stairs made of profile stainless steel deserve special mention. As steel can take different shapes (because of the bend of this pipe), we should mention the ease of installation due to welding or special solder. This is the cheapest and not so time-consuming option.
Turning to the reader, we would like to know whether this article was useful for you. Express your opinions and suggestions on more precise and in-depth review of the matter that interested you.
For finishing my staircase, I decided to use wood. This made my house look noble.
Because I can’t afford expensive wood species, I opted for PVC. This was a great idea!