Passing Muster

It's official, we passed our final inspection.

The last thing that the inspector needed to see properly installed was the handrail - for safety.

We purchased a nice handrail, newel post & balusters but there is a lot of measuring & ciphering to do to cut and install the balusters so that they are straight & level. Dave has barely had a spare moment to himself and no time to devote to that project right now. Plus, everything needs to be stained - which will not be happening in the house until all windows and doors can be left open. Time was running out on our building permit so he improvised.

 He rehung the "temporary" handrail that he made back in December 2010. He carefully measured, remeasured and then measured again before drilling holes in his brand new drywall.

Two 2x4's screwed and glued together make one sturdy newel post. The sanded edges and rounded corners are a nice touch.

Dave made a phone call to the inspector and found out that we did indeed have to have the balusters installed to pass inspection. For safety. You never know when one of us might tumble down the stairs, somehow bounce on the 4th step from the bottom and fall sideways out the hole onto the living room floor. So, in about 30 minutes time, the night before inspection, Dave made and installed rough balusters.

Now Dave can focus on finishing the wallboard in the living room and building a little access door to his cupboard under the stairs. In his spare time.