China Discount Wrought Iron Stair Handrail Company Factories - Modern Single Diamond Wrought Iron Baluster/Spindle – Primewerks

Wrought iRON BALUSTERS – COMPARING APPLE TO APPLE

Wrought iron balusters come in lots of designs but in two distinct types; HOLLOW iron and SOLID iron balusters.  The differences between the hollow and solid iron balusters involve more than just price.  Neither is an unsatisfactory option but solid iron balusters are definitely stronger.  You may hear hollow/solid wrought iron balusters referred to as “hollow iron balusters”, “solid iron spindles”, “hollow core balusters”, “solid wrought iron balusters”, “metal balustrades”, or many other combinations but all of them are referring to the same products.

Today we focus more on the reasons why the two should not be compared side by side as far as price is concerned.  Hollow iron balusters are less expensive.  The reason of that they require less metal as well as lighter weight.  They are also not as strong, but the difference is not such that they should be avoided, it just means that your balusters will “flex” more because of a property called deflection.  Solid Iron Balusters will also flex but not as much so the railing system is stronger.  As far as aesthetics, Solid iron balusters have a more “hand-forged” appearance with a little more texture, sharper corners and more variations in the surface.  Hollow Iron Balusters tend to be smoother with slightly rounded corners and don’t typically exhibit the same “hand-made” look.  We want to be clarified here, neither Solid nor Hollow Iron balusters are handmade these days, but the manufacturing process of the solid iron balusters does have a more authentic iron-work appearance.

If YOU, as a professional who deals with both versions every day, were to stand back and compare a Single Basket HOLLOW Iron Baluster and a Single Basket SOLID Iron Balusters in a banister, it is very unlikely that I could tell the difference.  Up close is a different story, even without being able to heft the balusters in my hand, the subtle details we mentioned above make the difference obvious.  A solid baluster system will be stronger; the balusters will look more “authentic” and have a more textured feel.  At Primewerks we sell tens of thousands of hollow and solid metal balusters for each month and consider both to be excellent products.  Just understand when comparing hollow vs. solid iron balusters that while they are both structurally sound, the solid iron balusters are preferred by most customers, if the price is not an issue.  Remember that “cheap” or “discounted” bargain balusters that are not defined as solid or hollow, are typically the less expensive hollow type.  Therefore, when comparing costing between two stair parts companies ensure you are comparing the exact same type of wrought iron balusters, because as in the case of Primewerks we offer both varieties.  If you were to compare one company’s hollow Iron balusters to our solid iron balusters we may be more expensive but hollow to hollow we typically beat their price.  If for some reason our wrought iron baluster costs are higher than our competition, then we have a low price guarantee on all of our stair parts.