View ChannelsFeatured: Finance
View ShowroomsFeatured: Radiantec - Radiant Solar Heating

BobVila.com

Home

Elm Court Stair Hall

Bob Vila meets with Bob and Sonya Berle on one of the many staircases at the Elm Court in Lenox, Massachusetts. This stair hall, with views of the gardens through its elongated windows, was painted a historic blue-green color that reflects the earthy tones outside. The custom balustrades, while not original to the house, are historically accurate to the home�s construction. True to the Berle�s backgrounds they brought the chandelier from their home in New Orleans.

Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Chapters from this episode

Elm Court Master Bedroom Now Playing

Elm Court Master Bedroom

The Bachelor's Den at Elm Court Now Playing

The Bachelor's Den at Elm Court

Elm Court's Utility Room and Washer and Dryer Hookup Now Playing

Elm Court's Utility Room and Washer and Dryer Hookup

Elm Court's Guest Suites Now Playing

Elm Court's Guest Suites

Elm Court's Unfinished Restoration Now Playing

Elm Court's Unfinished Restoration

Elm Court Stair Hall Now Playing

Elm Court Stair Hall

Clip Transcript For:

Elm Court Stair Hall

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" the stair hall which is quite elegant what kind of condition was it in when you started. When we got here there were no handrail are spindles many of the panels had been knocked out. And so we really set out about trying to produce and have custom milled. Balustrade that would look as if they had been in him that in the end these are probably very accurate to what originally was here they are quite accurate. But the house had been shut up and then boarded up for nearly fifty years and then and it had been attacked by vandals over the years so much was done. Sonya the chandeliers were were were -- original well."

" They actually were up from our home in New Orleans they hung up before in our parlor and in our formal dining -- we're used to -- suit brought them here and how did you go about choosing -- this blue green that you've put into the ceiling and the walls oh yes well this color is stuff on the historical paint palette and the idea that was it would just be a very harmonious blend between the outdoors -- the indoors because we have this nice airy gothic pitch of the roof. And these elongated beautiful windows and so it would just be a nice. -- plan."

[-]

More Videos »Related Videos

Mahogany Deck and Railings

The Mahogany railings for the elevated rear deck are being constructed, and Bob meets with Kevin Parquette who is doing the final assembly work. The deck features ample room for entertaining and is surrounded by a a simple, easy-to-construct railing. The railing is assembled from readily-available materials, and features decorative rail caps for a finished look. Parquette is using 8-penny stainless steel nails to assemble the railings. The nails are pre-coated with glue. When driven into the wood, the heat generated by the friction of the nail passing through the wood activates the glue, creating a strong and secure fastening system. Layout for the railing is done on the surface of the deck. The vertical balusters are sandwiched between two horizontal rails along the bottom, with a store-bought top rail securing the assembly. Once assembled, the railing sections are simply secured between the four-by-four-inch posts.

Installing Cedar Deck Railings

Tim Berky is building the cedar deck railings, first by notching the edge board to receive the posts. Each post sits flush with the trim once it is fitted into the notch. Berky attaches the post to the facing board by driving deck screws into predrilled holes in the post to avoid splitting the wood. He then builds the railing sections using cedar rails and stiles. Once assembled, he attaches the entire section to the deck posts by driving screws through the top and bottom rails.

Composite Deck Railing Installation

In this segment Bob watches the crew install the railing on the deck. The composite railing product comes pre-milled to accept all the railing components. As with wood decks, building codes calls for a post every six feet between the railings. The posts are pre-hollowed for wiring if the homeowner decides to light the deck with post-mounted lamps. The balustrades and railings are cut to length on site. Stainless steel screws are used to assemble the pieces. The use of stainless fasteners is an added cost, but longevity of the deck material means that uncoated fasteners would rust long before the deck might need replacing.

Safety Railing Installation

Ironworker Jimmy Canka secures the rooftop deck's safety railing to its footings. The individual sections of the simple picket-style iron railing are put in place on site, and then welded together. Canka uses an arc welder to fuse the sections together. Bob points out how the fence is secured to the roof employing three separate building trades, the roofers, ironworkers and masons. Behind the railing is a parapet wall, which is topped with bluestone to prevent moisture from seeping into the masonry work.