Is it a rail or a tree?

Here we are going to talk about how this railing became a tree.

Our wonderful client, Beth, wanted something unique and complimentary to her home. She asked for something that resembled the beautiful tree in her front yard. Our team sketched up several tree branch concepts and had to figure out the best way to approach building this unique railing.

One of the unusual parts of this railing process was that we did not have any 3D modeling for the railing. All our projects are typically modeled and made into blue prints to hand off to the shop team. Without a model, the team worked freeform to follow the initial concept sketches and bring these shapes out from the materials we work with.

When working without typical plans, we determined our best option was to build the general structure on-site, bring it back to our shop, and complete all of the decorative branches by hand. 

Several different sizes of round bar and pipe were used to give the branches some contrast and depth. Branches are dynamic and full of variety. To replicate something like this is no small task.

The thinner materials could be bent by hand, while the thicker steel had to be bent using a torch and a bending jig we made. 

Making the transitions look natural and clean was a slow process that didn’t have as many objective parameters as we’re used to. 

It took the team a little time to be comfortable making the judgment calls along the way about what looked good, what was easiest to do, and what would hold up nicely over time. That is the hardest thing about having so much creative freedom with projects. You, as the craftsman building it, will have to decide when the piece is ready and when to let a project be finished. In the end, they were able to make a one-of-a-kind masterpiece handrail for Miss Beth.

All-in-all, we were lucky to have such an amazing client. Beth was very patient with the process and we’re very happy that the completed railing compliments her home as nicely as it does.

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