It is definitely easier to just pay for it now than try and do it afterwards. Our friends who changed the staircase afterwards had it done slightly cheaper because they also had additional work like installing hardwood in 2 rooms. I would also clarify with your SR that the price is for direct set balusters. On our option sheet, they have the oak stairs with a baseplate or direct set balusters. With the direct set you definitely get a bullnose at the bottom of the staircase. I only ask because on your floor plan it says "optional upgrade stairs" when showing the bullnose. I think the direct set option was an extra $1000 on top of the hardwood stairs (metal or white balusters). We elected not to get the carpet runner. Our SR let us know with how he's seen it stapled to the staircase, you wouldn't want to completely remove it due to the damage that would show on the underlying wood. The only thing I wish RH did differently was have the risers not be white if going with the metal balusters. It's the main reason we went with white balusters instead of paying for the metal ones (which we loved).
I saw "direct" on your options list, so you had the answer posted all along! That's a great price for the stairs. There is 1 blog that swapped the balusters to metal afterwards (tutorial with pictures).
Thank you for the vote of confidence in our choice with the stairs. That was a hefty upgrade at $2,700... but my wife loved those stairs, and it was a gift to her (never mind the big house all around, ha!)... Really, it was one of those things we decided to pay for now and get it over with. It would have been cumbersome to cut the upstairs from downstairs while redoing them later, while not being certain of lots of savings or finish quality..
I updated the entry with a scan from the options set. It is direct set. I saw the blog entry about swapping the white for metal but can't remember where. It seemed doable but something I would rather not tackle. Thank God my wife likes the white over the metal!
The staples thing is very true.. Our SR said we would have to refinish the stairs if we get carpet, and he did not recommend it. Why get all of this beauty only to hide it?
For the flooring we had a very negative experience that resulted in mostly removing all flooring options. There is already an entry about that, but it had been heavily shortened due to what happened afterwards, which I will be posting about, and it is certainly worth a read! But in short, we will be doing lots of flooring afterwards as your friends did.
I also emailed my SR about the bullnose option and will update the post above when I get an answer. I am pretty sure we get it as it is not listed individually anywhere on the options sheet.
You made a great choice in getting the oak stairs. They are such a prominent feature in the Victoria Falls. You should be getting the bullnose (it's included with the direct set balusters). I actually had to convince my wife it was easier (and probably cheaper) to do it afterwards. We didn't realize this was a "structural option" and had 2 quick days to mull it over once I convinced her to even consider it. When we learned the risers were going to be white she preferred the white balusters.
Doing things on your own will give you so much more in options. It was such a tease to see all the tiling and hardwood options in the flooring showroom and be forced at the RHs selection corner. It's the main reason we didn't have the backsplash done through the flooring company/RHs.
I agree with the posts above--we, ok I, agonized about the hardwood stairs vs. carpet and direct-set balusters in our house (we're building an Avalon). The stairs really are such an integral part of the house, particularly when they are in the foyer like the Victoria Falls. Aren't they called "waterfall stairs" when they come down and open up wider like in your house-to-be? Lovely!
My only temptation was the carpet runner for our aging dog, who I worry about trying to get up and down the stairs. But we're going to invest in some carpet treads for the back stairs (the Avalon's stairs split into front and back stairs), so hopefully that should help and not damage our lovely expensive wood. All in all, a good choice, Ella May!
Yes, those are the Waterfall Stairs. Absolutely beautiful and the most prominent feature of the house as one will always run into when walking in (couldn't get a side door because we selected home office option).
Tomorrow I'll post about carpeting and some inside information I got through a strange set of circumstances. But none of that changes the carpet runner option..
I love the Avalon design by the way, I walked through a finished one with my SR and absolutely loved the vaulted family room and the dual and split stairs.. This one was all hardwood and was fantastic. The one I saw had a 3 car side entry garage and gigantic bathroom and walk in closets over the entire garage, very majestic.
Where we are building the Avalon costs over 40 thousand more than the Victoria Falls, so we did not take much nudging to select the later!
It so happened that whoever had built that Avalon was not able to buy it when the house was finished, which is really sad. However, good friends of ours bought it when RH put it on the market, and it is just two doors down from us, so we are very happy to have them around.
Nice choice on the stairs, the Vic Falls has an awesome staircase. We opted for the standard pine steps with carpet. Depending on whether or not you get lucky, they might look nice enough to remove the carpet and finish with stain. Ours are decent, but do have a few knots in the treads. Luckily they are right in the middle so we might eventually stain them and add a carpet runner.
The stairs we saw where I knocked on the hardwood to get a feel for the quality was a Courtland Gate like yours. Those stairs looked really good. I would imagine they must be simpler to upgrade later if you want due to their mostly standard shape (except the first one at the bottom). I saw your picture of the stairs and they look fine and finishable, except that landing in the middle.. I am curios to see how that will look if you decide to go that route. There are videos on youtube showing installation of hardwood on stairs, and it seems reasonable enough given time, proper tools, and patience. Good luck to us all!
I love your posts! Very detailed! We built a Rome in Maryland and was told we could not get the hardwood steps on our model which did not make any sense to me!! It had something to do with the width or depth. Don't remember now. We have hardwood throughout the entire first floor and wanted to see it carried up the steps.
They also did not offer the metal balusters which I wanted too! Uggh!! We plan to change the white to the metal at some point.
Once you see those steps you are going to be so thrilled because they look fabulous! The upgrade cost will no longer be a factor.
thank you thank you, you are too kind. We are going to the brand new Victoria Falls model that opens tomorrow, so we'll see what this house we built based on pictures really looks like in real live.. I know we will love it, but a small part whispers evilly "what if you don't..." We will, we have to! Hahaha.
It is definitely easier to just pay for it now than try and do it afterwards. Our friends who changed the staircase afterwards had it done slightly cheaper because they also had additional work like installing hardwood in 2 rooms. I would also clarify with your SR that the price is for direct set balusters. On our option sheet, they have the oak stairs with a baseplate or direct set balusters. With the direct set you definitely get a bullnose at the bottom of the staircase. I only ask because on your floor plan it says "optional upgrade stairs" when showing the bullnose. I think the direct set option was an extra $1000 on top of the hardwood stairs (metal or white balusters). We elected not to get the carpet runner. Our SR let us know with how he's seen it stapled to the staircase, you wouldn't want to completely remove it due to the damage that would show on the underlying wood. The only thing I wish RH did differently was have the risers not be white if going with the metal balusters. It's the main reason we went with white balusters instead of paying for the metal ones (which we loved).
ReplyDeleteI saw "direct" on your options list, so you had the answer posted all along! That's a great price for the stairs. There is 1 blog that swapped the balusters to metal afterwards (tutorial with pictures).
DeleteThank you for the vote of confidence in our choice with the stairs. That was a hefty upgrade at $2,700... but my wife loved those stairs, and it was a gift to her (never mind the big house all around, ha!)... Really, it was one of those things we decided to pay for now and get it over with. It would have been cumbersome to cut the upstairs from downstairs while redoing them later, while not being certain of lots of savings or finish quality..
DeleteI updated the entry with a scan from the options set. It is direct set. I saw the blog entry about swapping the white for metal but can't remember where. It seemed doable but something I would rather not tackle. Thank God my wife likes the white over the metal!
The staples thing is very true.. Our SR said we would have to refinish the stairs if we get carpet, and he did not recommend it. Why get all of this beauty only to hide it?
For the flooring we had a very negative experience that resulted in mostly removing all flooring options. There is already an entry about that, but it had been heavily shortened due to what happened afterwards, which I will be posting about, and it is certainly worth a read! But in short, we will be doing lots of flooring afterwards as your friends did.
I also emailed my SR about the bullnose option and will update the post above when I get an answer. I am pretty sure we get it as it is not listed individually anywhere on the options sheet.
You made a great choice in getting the oak stairs. They are such a prominent feature in the Victoria Falls. You should be getting the bullnose (it's included with the direct set balusters). I actually had to convince my wife it was easier (and probably cheaper) to do it afterwards. We didn't realize this was a "structural option" and had 2 quick days to mull it over once I convinced her to even consider it. When we learned the risers were going to be white she preferred the white balusters.
DeleteDoing things on your own will give you so much more in options. It was such a tease to see all the tiling and hardwood options in the flooring showroom and be forced at the RHs selection corner. It's the main reason we didn't have the backsplash done through the flooring company/RHs.
I agree with the posts above--we, ok I, agonized about the hardwood stairs vs. carpet and direct-set balusters in our house (we're building an Avalon). The stairs really are such an integral part of the house, particularly when they are in the foyer like the Victoria Falls. Aren't they called "waterfall stairs" when they come down and open up wider like in your house-to-be? Lovely!
ReplyDeleteMy only temptation was the carpet runner for our aging dog, who I worry about trying to get up and down the stairs. But we're going to invest in some carpet treads for the back stairs (the Avalon's stairs split into front and back stairs), so hopefully that should help and not damage our lovely expensive wood. All in all, a good choice, Ella May!
Yes, those are the Waterfall Stairs. Absolutely beautiful and the most prominent feature of the house as one will always run into when walking in (couldn't get a side door because we selected home office option).
ReplyDeleteTomorrow I'll post about carpeting and some inside information I got through a strange set of circumstances. But none of that changes the carpet runner option..
I love the Avalon design by the way, I walked through a finished one with my SR and absolutely loved the vaulted family room and the dual and split stairs.. This one was all hardwood and was fantastic. The one I saw had a 3 car side entry garage and gigantic bathroom and walk in closets over the entire garage, very majestic.
Where we are building the Avalon costs over 40 thousand more than the Victoria Falls, so we did not take much nudging to select the later!
It so happened that whoever had built that Avalon was not able to buy it when the house was finished, which is really sad. However, good friends of ours bought it when RH put it on the market, and it is just two doors down from us, so we are very happy to have them around.
Nice choice on the stairs, the Vic Falls has an awesome staircase. We opted for the standard pine steps with carpet. Depending on whether or not you get lucky, they might look nice enough to remove the carpet and finish with stain. Ours are decent, but do have a few knots in the treads. Luckily they are right in the middle so we might eventually stain them and add a carpet runner.
ReplyDeleteThe stairs we saw where I knocked on the hardwood to get a feel for the quality was a Courtland Gate like yours. Those stairs looked really good. I would imagine they must be simpler to upgrade later if you want due to their mostly standard shape (except the first one at the bottom). I saw your picture of the stairs and they look fine and finishable, except that landing in the middle.. I am curios to see how that will look if you decide to go that route. There are videos on youtube showing installation of hardwood on stairs, and it seems reasonable enough given time, proper tools, and patience. Good luck to us all!
DeleteI love your posts! Very detailed!
ReplyDeleteWe built a Rome in Maryland and was told we could not get the hardwood steps on our model which did not make any sense to me!! It had something to do with the width or depth. Don't remember now. We have hardwood throughout the entire first floor and wanted to see it carried up the steps.
They also did not offer the metal balusters which I wanted too! Uggh!! We plan to change the white to the metal at some point.
Once you see those steps you are going to be so thrilled because they look fabulous! The upgrade cost will no longer be a factor.
thank you thank you, you are too kind. We are going to the brand new Victoria Falls model that opens tomorrow, so we'll see what this house we built based on pictures really looks like in real live.. I know we will love it, but a small part whispers evilly "what if you don't..." We will, we have to! Hahaha.
Delete