Carpentry and Woodworking - where to buy wrought iron baulsters

I am pretty new to these forums here. so any help is appreciated.

We just bought a new home. But the builder gave us a crappy steel stairs (painted white). I am planning on replacing these with wrought iron baulsters and wooden rail.

Any idea where i can find these baulsters online or in Texas ?

Also, i would appreciate a suggestion on a good book on wrought iron stair building.

Thanks !

Look at the ads below this post. They may be able to handle your needs.

Around here most of the houses that use wrought iron have them custom built. Check the yellow pages under iron works or ornamental iron.

We live in a 'california contemporary' that sits in Charlotte, NC -- and I'm replacing oversized oak railings and spindles with wrought iron balusters as just one of the many projects I've done to convert the house to a more upscale "transisitonal" style.

I ordered the baluster shoes on-line about 1 year ago from the same place I just ordered the balusters two days ago. I had no problems with the shoes so I decided to go ahead with the balusters too.

The website is stairsupplies, but there are several that are worth checking out (just google "balusters" or "iron" "balusters" and look at the google ads). One website even has a neat script that lets you design your own rails on-line, so you can get a feel for what it looks like.

Also, I was lucky enough to have one Lowes in the area (out of about 6 that I checked out) that actually had a display set up for wrought iron balusters and newel posts (they carried the pieces in stock too). The price was actuallly lower than what I ended up getting on-line (the shipping costs pushed the on-line price higher, despite the tax offset -- but I think I am getting a higher quality, more upscale product), and the quality looked pretty good (these are actually the "Milan" series from crownheritage so you can check them out on-line if your local Lowes doesn't stock them.)

I even put together an Excel spreadsheet that helped me make selections among the various vendors (basically you input what type - up to 3 different, and how many ballusters you need, and the spreadsheet calculates costs). I'd be happy to email it to you (for private use) -- PM if you want it.

What part of Texas? Most of the companys that do ornimental wrought iron wont do wood railing. Mostly because they are just two diferent craftsmen. The wood guys usually cant do any more than just iron spindals. Look at the companys and carpenters that are doing new homes in you area.