We were doing a complete renovation of our house and wanted to include refinishing our stairs. We had a 2-level staircase with oak railing/pickets - the top flight had oak treads with a carpet runner and the bottom steps were carpeted. We replaced our flooring with African Mahogany hardwood and wanted the stairs to be refinished to match. Thankfully we found Loreto from Su-Anne Railing. Our staircase is absolutely stunning. We changed the stairs to maple by capping the current treads, replacing all the veneers on the stringers and risers, replaced the railing, changed the wood pickets to beautiful wrought iron, and matched the stain to our new hardwood. This is NOT an easy job (detail, matching stain to an exotic wood, etc.) but the result is absolutely outstanding. After a full reno, we have dealt with a lot of contractors/trades. I can honestly say that Loreto was the best contractor of them all by far! He was so helpful, quoted accurately and fairly (no gouging), completed the job on time, did what he said he would do, is friendly, professional, respectful of our home (ie. cleaned up, took shoes off, covered floors, etc.) and made sure the job was done right no matter how long it took -- there is no cutting corners with Loreto, and it shows in his meticulous work. He invested a lot of time with us before we agreed to do the work, answering our questions (on-site), bringing samples, etc. and went back to his stain contact 4-5 times to ensure the stain was perfect. Loreto is more concerned about quality and doing things right vs doing things fast and easy -- something you don't find a lot in contractors today. I do not give glowing reviews easily but if you are looking for any stair or railing work, you absolutely must call Loreto to bid on the job! He even took the time to install some baseboard trim our contractor forgot and fed our cat when we were away!! I can't say enough about him but I'll let the before/after pictures of the stairs speak for themselves.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $15,000.00
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Choose your contractor carefully as sloppy work really shows on stairs. Don't go for the cheapest bid, you'll get what you pay for. Instead, look for a contractor who is willing to provide multiple options to meet your budget.