Ideas or help on staircase overhaul.

Hi all. Been lurking for a little while and now that we finally are getting around to redoing our backyard after putting on an addition to the house I get to create a tiki inspired version I've been wanting to do for awhile.

I built the floating deck about a month ago and just finished up putting a thatched roof on the gazebo. I'll be covering the exposed concrete walls below the siding with some reed rolls and will be working on the steps from the sliders next.
Here's a pic just after finsihing the deck.

I'll be replacing the decking on the stairs with the same trex as the deck itself.
What I'm looking to do is create an overhang with a Jungle Cruise sign on top similar to what Tikinaut has done on his bar.

My question is what to do with the railings. The plain old ballisters painted white just doesn't theme well with the rest of the plan.
I was thinking going with some sort of bamboo railings or maybe a fishnet type railing lilke on the Jungle Cruise loading area.

Any comments or suggestions would be helpful.
I'll post some updated photos this weekend.
Here's a couple of the garden railroad I'm currently working on as well.

Erick

Welcome to TC Retrolane. I know bamboo is said to be very strong but it seems it would be high maintenance to keep it varnished and splinter-free, especially outside. If I remember right, the railing at Disneyland's Indiana Jones ride is steel pipe with the nodes welded on then painted like bamboo. Another option might be steel or iron pipe with nodes formed from Bondo or something similar?

I searched for "iron bamboo" and found this 2" bar foot railing from wyomingmetalsmiths.com, but it's a bit steep at $115 per foot

Good luck with your build and keep us posted

Wow! I like the Jungle Cruise theme.

What about wooden posts with rope netting for railing?

Using net railing was my other choice.
Any clue on where to pick something like that up?

Erick

If you search for cargo net you will find a few for sale on the internet. Even Amazon.com has them for sale. You can even go to YouTube and find videos on how to make your own cargo net by tying ropes together.

How about something like pier pilings with ropes as the railing? You can use peeler cores.
Two examples of how you could put the poles/pilings together.


Two examples of how The Jungle Cruise uses rope and pilings.


I personally don't like the brass tops on the examples.

Cheers,
Erik

the copper tops are good to prevent rot of the end-grain - there are chemicals that you could apply to turn the copper to green or black or dark brown pretty quick :) i think they are called patina solutions - https://www.google.com/#q=copper+patina+solution&hl=en&safe=off&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=2YG_T6egJIqWgweZvoHdCQ&ved=0CMcBEK0E&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=26a1bebd406df936&biw=1018&bih=373

Thanks Erik, that's exactly the look I'm going for. Thanks for the help and info.
I'll have to start searching to see where I can pick up the heavy rope netting like that and some piers.

Just recieved our windmill palm and planted that last night. It's slowly coming together.
If it ever stops raining here I'll get some updated photos posted.

Erick

Welcome to TC...what a fun backyard you are going to have. Will there be any "E" ticket cocktails served?

Still working on the cocktail menu. Hoping this weekend to actually get to sit and enjoy the progress so far.

I dug up a couple of leads on poles that would work but no luck on the rope railing/fencing.
Anyone have any suggestions on where to pick up something like this:

Erick

[ Edited by: retrolane 2012-05-25 10:24 ]

"I personally don't like the brass tops on the examples"
I would say JD is right that is to deal with rot.
And he is right again in that those patinas work great.

Looks like you are in the midwest?
If ya got alot of rain and winter to deal with rope, bamboo, wood well
that stuff rots splits and cracks so if Disney with all the help they
have doing nothing but maintaing that stuff does it it's a good idea.
Keep in mind stuff that won't rot quick or that looks good rotted.
Keeping up with decor that keeps needing fixing sucks.
I know, I made these mistakes in the past and hate to see people waste time
and money on things that don't work.

Just a side note: Those copper tops on the end of the pier poles will be kinda pricey if you decide to use something like that. They would probably have to be custom made. You can do a way cheap alternative with round galvanized ductwork end caps (available in many different sizes) that can be found at the Home Depot or a Heating/Cooling supplier and then spray paint with copper colored Rustoleum.

I'm actually in northern New Jersey so we do get bad winters.
The weathering on the bamboo is what I was worried about so thanks for the heads up.
I think for now I'm just going with some beachcombed fish netting I've had laying around to cover the grey cement areas below the siding and along the white vinyl fence.
I'll hand some of the tiki masks from there.

Here's some updated progress photos from this weekend.

Erick

Glad to see another Tikiphile from NJ, Erick! I'm south of you in Central New Jersey. We just started our build as well and am cautious with thatch and our NJ winters. Thinking of going with the artificial stuff due to that.

Looks like you're off to a good start!

I reused the frame from a gazebo we had and added extra wooden braces along the top to staple the thatching to.
When I make a new gazebo from scratch I'll go with the artificial stuff for up here I think.
I'm able to lift the whole canopy off the gazebo so for the winter I'll remove it and cover it so it's not sitting exposed during the winter months.
Good luck with your build also.

Erick