Okay folks, I'll try to make this quick.
We have two stairwells and they are about four feet deep or so and
have steel/iron (whatever they are made of) rails on each side. One
side is just a rail without the slanted handhold and the other has the
handhold. These originally were just set on the concrete and are
beginning to rust away. My options are to pull the existing rails,
take them to someplace where they can weld new pieces on, purchase
entirely new rails, have someone weld the parts so I can attached to
the concrete wall of the house and purchase some sort of collars I can
use to concrete or drill holes to mount the rails. Now the issue is I
wonder if it would make more sense to have these refurbished, purchase
new rails, or maybe consider a different style of rail. I've seen for
decks a type of rail that has a steel core and a PCV cover. I haven't
really started pricing these things out, but the existing rails are
rusting on the bottom and are really loose now and what amazes me is
how anyone didn't notice during the inspection six years ago they were
not properly mounted.
The other question is one of the stairwells is exposed to the
elements and tends to be a problem with blowing rain and snow. I was
thinking of adding a cover that would extend from the door to the top
step. Now of course this step is at the bottom of the four-foot
stairwell and I assume I'd have to put the cover high enough for
people to walk down the stairwell and not hit their head on the cover
and still have it look nice. So, right above the door probably is not
an option, but I imagine mounting it to the concrete wall makes the
most sense. Now the other question is the run-off from the cover. I
don't know how these work, but I am sure they are slanted some, but do
they have a gutter of sorts?
Any input here would be appreciated. Don't worry, the next big
question is coming soon about screen in porches. grin
Thanks,
