Newel post veneer
Part of the veneer on the base of our newel post has come off (see photo). I guess we didn’t take enough care of it during the renovation given I don’t remember this problem when we got the house. That said, I would like to fix the problem now. I believe though don’t know that…
Part of the veneer on the base of our newel post has come off (see photo). I guess we didn’t take enough care of it during the renovation given I don’t remember this problem when we got the house. That said, I would like to fix the problem now. I believe though don’t know that the veneer is walnut. Is this likely? The shape of the post is common to many brownstones in our area so I assume that it was sort of mass produced when these houses were built and other people may have had the same problem. Anyone out there have fixed a post similarly damaged? What is the best approach given that ultimately I want to strip the wood and oil it (as we are doing for the rest of the balustrade)?
Thanks
Going4broke,
Please write me at looking4newels@gmail.com. I am doing research on antique newels and would like to examine your newel post. Maybe speak with your renovator as well.
Thanks,
Jim
Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately veneer is missing from all sides but one. As with a number of issues in our renovation, I should have paid more attention to this detail but then perhaps I would have missed something else… Will probably do a patch veneer keeping in mind 10:50’s comment about avoiding perfection 🙂
Re rebuilding stairs – yes we are, done by the guy we now have working on putting Humpty Dumpty together again. Very lucky to have him as he is excellent & likes to work at one place at a time (doesn’t spread his time over multiple jobs). I know he is booked however for some time though will recommend him on this site if he wants me to when we are done. FYI he did the treads 3 at a time working mainly from above putting in lots of bracing wood to make them super solid & square as possible given old house quirks. By the by he also put insulation underneath for soundproofing.
You can go to a salvage yard and try to match what you have with a veneered piece of wood. Steam off what you need, cut it and glue it on. Faux painting works well if you are good and if not, then practice first. Personally, I would just stain the wood to match. I notice too many people trying to restore to perfection. Something 100 years old and more should look it. Doing it to “perfection” adds a lot of time and cost and you never get that back in resale.
You can go to a salvage yard and try to match what you have with a veneered piece of wood. Steam off what you need, cut it and glue it on. Faux painting works well if you are good and if not, then practice first. Personally, I would just stain the wood to match. I notice too many people trying to restore to perfection. Something 100 years old and more should look it. Doing it to “perfection” adds a lot of time and cost and you never get that back in resale.
You have a ribbon newel post. If you are lucky only 3 faces of the octagon are damaged
and you can turn the bad parts so that they are less
visible. You need to remove the nut on the very
top piece and then the whole newel comes apart
section by section — just lift up. The final piece
is the base that is chipped. Carefully remove the
toenails holding it to the riser, and then simply
turn it so the bad parts face into the stairs.
In the worst case, now that the newel is no
longer attached, you can ake it to a wood shop
and have them replace the veneer.
The best way to do it is to faux paint.
Looks like you’re redoing the stairs- Are you doing it yourself, or did you have someone do that for you. We’re about to take this on in a South Slope house- they are badly sagging.
From my experience, the ‘stain to match’ comment above make this step sound easier than it is. Not impossible, but be prepared to custom blend different stains on swatches of veneer until you are satisfied. Or, sometimes it’s a matter of laying down one color, letting it dry, and applying another color on top. 10:44 is pretty ingenious; beautiful if that strategy works out.
Had exactly the same problem. Balustrade was crappy veneer. Bannister itself was beautiful Mahogany. After taking out a few chunks, painted the former and stripped the latter. Looks really nice. Top of balustrade is also Mahogany so the line of finished wood ends on the top of it.
I like how it came out.