Staircase balusters boarded over

[24by7]

Hopefully this isn't a strange question, but the balusters on the staircase in my house are boarded over on both sides with plywood. I don't know when this when done (looks like it's been like that for years), but what I'm wondering is if I strip the plywood boards off, what will I find underneath? Will it be nice balusters from the late

1930's (when the house was built), that need sanding down and a lick of paint, or could there actually just be a few supporting balusters because the plywood was put on when the staircase was originally built (i.e. it was the fashion back then).

My suspicion is that someone has done a DIY job on it in the 60's or

70's, but I really don't know for certain, and don't want to rip of the plywood without having a good idea of what's behind it. Any advice/ experience appreciated. Thanks

[Stuart Noble]

In this area square balusters were all the rage in the 30s.

[24by7]

I probably didn't explain it clearly enough - the whole area where the balusters are is boarded over, not individual balusters. There's two big pieces of plywood covering the whole baluster area. What I'm curious about is what's behind these two pieces of plywood - proper balusters or just a few supporting struts holding up the handrail.

[Adrian]

It's very hard to tell from where we are sitting

If you tap on the plywood with your knuckles then you _might_ be able to tell where the vertical supports are from the 'ring' of the knock (sounds hollow in-between the supports, sounds soild where the uprights are). You might also be able to see nail or screw-heads where the ply has been fixed to the uprights - but they're probably not fixed at every upright...

I'd guess that it's one of those DIY jobs on a par with panelling over those 'nasty' Victorian doors - and has probably been done in the simplest way possible (which would be to leave the existing uprights in place and simply fix the ply (or more likely, hardboard) to them...

...but people do strange things

Adrian

[Mike Dodd]

There's no way anyone here could know, pull off a board - B&Q sell plenty of tacks if the board needs to go back on.

[dom]

Sounds like a typical bit of 1970's modernism. I think the odds are in your favour that the diy'er will have made the minimum of effort, and lightly pinned the plywood (luxury! - it's usually hardboard) panels in place.

[Adrian C]

Try a moving a metal/stud/wire detector over the top to identify position of any major nails? If they are there, they many be at standard spacings. Nails placed to hold boarding will be somewhere else than the top , and will be placed as seen fit by the installer.

[Stuart Noble]

I understood fine. I'm simply saying square, rather than turned, balusters were popular in the 30s so you may not be revealing anything fancy by taking the ply off.

[Cicero]

================================== Drill a 1/8" hole and insert a length of bent, stiff wire; wiggle it about to see if it hits any obstructions which could be staircase parts. Repeat the process a few times in other areas to confirm results.

Cic.

[nightjar]

No, you misunderstood the answer. The chances are that, if there are balusters behind the panelling, they are simple square pieces of timber. Modernism, much inspired by Bauhaus, was the building style of the 1930s and the turned bits of wood liked by the Victorians were definitely passé.

Colin Bignell

[Harry Bloomfield]

Ours is a 1940's semi and was covered. On removing the panels the balusters were just plain square and unevenly spaced. So my thoughts were that the hardboard was put on at the original time of build. It was panelled over and then wood trim neatly installed over the top of that.

When I get roundtuit, I intend to replace them with some better ones and of course evenly spaced. It is not a difficult job.

[Lobster]

Yes I recently renovated a postwar ex-council house which had hideous panelled balusters, and I had to make a similar judgement as to whether there was anything decent behind the plywood: in the end I had to pry off the corner of one piece... which revealed just a stud framework of rough-sawn timber. Back went the panel!

I think you'll have to have a look to be sure: even if there were originally good balusters underneath and they've been Barrybucknellised, it's still possible that they could have been irretrievable damaged in the process (often happened with panelled doors where the moulding was raised).

David

[24by7]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I never expected so many responses and all of them helpful. Really appreciate it. I guess the only way to find out is to take a look - I was rather hoping you'd all say "Of course they'll be balusters behind there, just pull the plywood off !!" Ain't that simple though :)

[Andy Champ]

OK then - "Of course they'll be balusters behind there, just pull the plywood off !!" - but of course you don't believe me...

A stud detector might tell you how many bits of wood are behind the ply, if not their quality.

Andy

[chris French]

In message , nightjar writes

yeah that's exactly what we had (1938 semi), boarded over with hardboard in probably 1960's.

Not exciting. but once painted. the stairs and hallway looked much, much better. I just had to replace a few that's all

[chris French]

In message , Harry Bloomfield writes

Surely the finish (or not would indicate whether or not they were.

If painted, or like ours some sort of stain/varnish then it indicates they were originally exposed

[Harry Bloomfield]

chris French was thinking very hard :

Well they were stained, but little care had been taken to install them for a good fit or accurate spacing - so my assumption was that they had not been installed to be seen. Lots of care had been taken with the panelling though.

[Graham.]

about 10 years ago to reveal plain 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 balusters. I got some turned spindles from a timber-merchant and cut them to size, this is the result.

hardest part was stripping the paint from the rest of the staircase. I am not much of a DIYer but am very pleased with the result.

[newshound]

That would be my guess too; you might find one or two broken which might be why it was panelled, but they are likely to be square and therefore relatively easily replaced.

[chrisj.doran]

Is this a row of identical houses? If so, ask other people in the street.

Chris