That is what our builder does standard, but we chose not to do it on our Georgian home as we (and our designer) felt it was not in keeping with the "feel" of our home. We are doing the traditional wood Georgian balusters painted white. I do think the wrought iron looks beautiful, though, and it is very popular in our area. Most of my friends have it and it looks lovely. I don't think $950 is excessive, because I know that it does cost more (we were going to get a credit, except that I ended up getting thicker newell posts so it ended up a wash.)

If it helps at all, my builder (SF bay area) just (last week) quoted me $60/lf to upgrade from wood to iron, simple craftsman style. I think I have 200 ft of railing, so I'd be looking at 12,000! You're looking at 20f, so my guy would have cost you 1,200. That's pretty good pricing. Depends on where you are, though, since building costs differ by so much.

$1000 was our price for doing so. Our builder did tell us if we wanted to do this to buy online in order to get the best price. You might check: http://www.stairworld.com/

They have a clearance going on right now and some of their iron ballisters are 90 percent off.

We decided not to go w/ iron ballisters and are doing wood and we're in the process of maybe trying to order from them- we shall see how it goes.

I'm so old that I remember people replacing 'tacky' iron balusters with wood! It's 'trendy', whereas wood is classic. Also, think about the fun of dusting those whirligig iron bits.

Chisue, if you're old then I am too! LOL! I remember the "Meditteranean" style that spawned the wrought iron and dark wood craze that appears to have come full circle and been reinterpreted as "Tuscan" for today's fashion followers.

Thanks all, it sounds like I got a fair price. Now my only concern is that it fits in a country style home? And will it be out dated in years to come?
If it helps, here is a pic of the outside of the home. Not much to show on the inside that would help since its only drywall.

I presume the price includes the materials, so instead of wood he's installing wrought iron balusters correct, your substituting one material for the other the iron is more expensive than the wood balusters it's a fair price he's a builder he's already made enough money off you

Here is a link that might be useful: iron balusters

Have to agree with GreenDesigns. This isn't traditional 'farmhouse' anyway. (Repeating gables, Palladian window, etc.) So...do what pleases you.

Do I think the iron balusters will look dated? Yes. That's what I was trying to say in my previous reply.

I personally think iron balusters are here to stay and will not look dated anytime soon. They are nice to look at and are very low maintaince. Noting worse than painting stair balusters that are dented and chipped. In our area it's the wood balusters that get frown upon as being builder grade.

It's really a choice and what works in your home, in your case either would look lovely. What a beautiful home. :)

Thanks Everyone. I did not say "Farmhouse" for style however, I said country style. To me farmhouse and country are very different. I think we are leaning towards the iron.

For that price, I would do it. Our quote was much more and we ended up not doing it but I really like them. And, like someone else said...much lower maitenance if you have children its something to thing about...painting all those...whew...something to be avoided. smile

One thing I can't figure out is that the balusters cost about $4 a piece so $12 a linear foot. No more work to install and don't have to be painted. Why such an upcharge?

Because the majority of primed balusters come from china and are often finger jointed material. Because they are only 1/2" you will need a few more for the balcony than you would with a tapered wooden baluster. The epoxy that they should be installed with is considerably more expensive than white or wood glue and there are also the caps that need to be purchased and installed unless they are morticed into the treads (sqr holes) which would cost considerably more.

Ian

I try to keep ornamental ironwork on the exterior of a house and always powder coat it. Inside, wood is more appropriate if you are emulating Colonial/Georgian/Colonial Revival styles unless, of course, you are emulating the Spanish or French Colonial styles.

Thanks for the explanation Ian. But it still seems like a lot. That glue was $20 (so certainly more than $1 for wood glue) and the caps were $1 I think - that does add up some but the upcharges on this are still a major profit center for some.