Grace Baptist Church Railings

The Grace Baptist Church in Plymouth has a traditional pulpit with a curved dais at the front of the Church.  The Pastor has a lectern in the center of this and the choir has seating behind that.  They contacted us because it has become an issue over the years with choir members  coming down the curved steps without railings.  They asked us to come up with a railing that would fit in with the existing woodwork and give choir members something to hold on to while they come down the stairs.  They were most concerned with safety and aesthetics.

We came up with several options for them and provided sketches.  There were different things that could be done with locations and volutes.  They selected a curved rail option with newel posts at either end and decorative balusters under the railing.  This was the most stable option as well as fitting well into the existing style of woodwork.

Curved railings are always challenging as the railing comes in a sliced profile (See image to the left) that must be bent and glued in the field.  In this case it was further complicated by the need to bend the rail around the location where their baby grand piano sits.  Also, the rail runs with a curved counter to the curve of the steps.  To add one more complication, the existing planters and stairs had different dimensions on either side of the pulpit despite looking symmetrical from the sanctuary.  To accommodate this we formed and bent the railing on the grand piano side first and then duplicated that curve with slight adjustments to account for the symmetry issue.  The new woodwork was then stained to match.  The Church is pleased with the final outcome.  Pastor Matthew Elliott said, “They look so nice people do not want to even touch them!  I think if you had completed them between services most parishioners wouldn’t have realized there had been a change.  They look like they’ve always been there.”

Dave Epley was our carpenter for this project.  We’re pleased with Dave’s work on this.