Drilling holes in pots

Sorry to jump off topic in this interesting and informative thread, but @Doghouse Riley I am very interested in your staircase. Ours is closed in, but otherwise a similar layout to yours. I would like to open ours out like yours, but the cheapest quote from a joiner was for £700, which we are not willing to pay. We wondered if we could do something ourselves. Was yours like that when you moved in, did you get someone in, or did you do it yourself? Any advice would be gratefully received. Yours is lovely!

 

Thanks for your kind words. .


Our original staircase was boxed in. This was the fashion in the sixties when the houses in our road were built. In that it had solid plywood panels under the banisters from top to bottom. The newal posts were extended to form a finial.
I completely removed the panels about thirty years ago, after the kids had left home.
I just took a saw to the panels, cut them in half horizontally and pulled out the top and bottom of them all, it was dead easy, I don't think they bothered to glue them in properly.

It required the grooves under the banister rails and the matching one at the bottom of the panels filled in and smoothed down. That took the longest.

I also took a saw to the newel posts and squared them off.

Then sixteen years ago we decided to have wrought iron spindles, I got these from Travis Perkins, they're quite easy to fit.

There is a maximum gap you should have between the spindles. I think is 99mm.

Ours isn't, it'd make it look too crowded, but then we've no small kids to fall through them

 

Thank you @Doghouse Riley, that is useful information. Our house is 1930s, but it looks very much like we have the same style of staircase you had. my husband is fairly handy, but I think it is mainly a confidence thing , never having done anything like that before! I will show him your photo and reply...! Our banister is white gloss, and I love how the white goes with the black spindles in yours.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

I'm sure your husband will be able to manage it.

As I said just saw the panels in half parallel with the banister. He should then be able to wiggle the two halves out of their grooves. the rest is plain sailing. The banister will not need any additional support. Ours had none until I put in the spindles.