Stair Railing Design Detail: Totally Wired

In a home whose interior design is dominated by raw materials, a staircase with a traditional wooden spindle railing would have looked out of place. Instead, homeowners Greg and Amanda Buchheit chose a bare-steel alternative from Banker Wire.

Greg, who is a principal with Architectural Remodel & Contracting, in St. Charles, Mo., built the rustic-modern home and fabricated the railing on site. Reclaimed barn wood makes up the living-room wall; the countertops are concrete; and an exposed steel beam supports the ceiling.

The Buchheits chose Banker Wire as their wire-mesh infill provider. The company helped them select plain steel L-64 woven wire mesh, which has highly defined square openings. When surrounded by a Banker Wire U-edge frame, the mesh created simple and sleek infill panels that harmonize visually with the weathered steel railing and reclaimed barn-wood stair treads.

Greg and Amanda wanted to maintain the straight lines and 90-degree angles characteristic of their home in the transition between its levels. Their railing system positions the mesh pattern perpendicular to the ground, even as the railing slopes upward. Greg constructed each infill panel by surrounding the mesh with raw sticks of U-edge, then welding each panel to a steel channel and support posts. The entire railing was then one welded piece, which he installed on the stairs.