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WHY USE IRON BALUSTER SHOES?

Typically, installing iron balusters in wooden railings requires you to drill holes into the top and bottom rail. These holes must be the right size and depth and the holes in the top and bottom rail must be perfectly aligned. While there is some flexibility in the hole’s depth, drilling a hole that’s too small, too large, or is out of alignment most likely means discarding the rail and starting over.

Some manufacturers make iron baluster shoes, but these are typically cosmetic. They’re sliding over the base of the baluster to help conceal the joint between the baluster and the rail. Iron baluster shoe mounts, on the other hand, are actual mounts that hold a baluster in place, and this type of shoe makes installing iron balusters a lot easier. They have a number of advantages over drilling holes in the wood or placing purely cosmetic metal shoes over the bases of the balusters:

• They don’t require drilling a large hole in the wood, which helps keep the rail intact and strong.
• Screws don’t take up much space in the wood, meaning that when the wood swells with moisture it puts less stress on the wood rail than a baluster might.
• Baluster alignment can be adjusted easily. With baluster shoe mounts, if your alignment is slightly off on one mount, you can take out the screw and re-attach the mount in the correct location.

The biggest disadvantage of this method is that these shoe mounts aren’t as common as cosmetic shoes, and won’t work with every baluster. However, if you can find a manufacturer that makes attractive, high-quality balusters and baluster shoe mounts, it can make replacing a crucial part of your railing much quicker and easier.