"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
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On Mar 26, 10:05 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
"DerbyDad03" wrote in message

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On Mar 26, 9:19 am, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:





"Lee" wrote in message

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Another non-DIY question. The house I'm getting ready to sell has a
wrought iron railing on the porch steps - about 3 steps worth from the
sidewalk to the cement porch. Sometime last yr the end upright piece
broke
(square hollow piece, not one of the twisty spindle things). The two
ends
still "touch" but it's apparently broken through.

Obviously I'm going to need to repair it before showing the house, so
that
it doesn't scream deferred maintenance. And it's not something I can
do
myself, so I'll end up calling one of those 1-800-handyman places.

So here (finally) is the question: several people have told me that
"they"
sell some sort of insert that goes inside the hollow upright to hold
it
together, like a stent. Any idea where I'd find that, or what it's
called?
I'd like to get one ahead of time. The problem I ran into the last
time
I
called the 800-handyman type place was that, although he did a good
job,
he charged by the hr, with a 2 hr minimum, and part of that time was
involved buying supplies. So I'm figuring if I already have the pieces
he
might need I can save a little $. Or am I better off having a new
railing
ready just in case? And if so, do they have them at HD etc, and how
would
I know what to buy? (ie, do I look for a certain size or incline?)

Thanks.

Are you trying to save a little money because it's generally good to try
whenever possible? Or, are your finances so awful right now that you
have
no choice but to do this repair the cheap way?

I agree with Smitty: You're pushing your luck trying to do this in any
way
but the best way. Replace the thing.

I live in a city of about 200,000 people, and if I look for "Metal" in
the
yellow pages, there are several pages of listings. Rather than call all
of
them, I'd call a mason to get the name of a metal shop than makes and/or
repairs wrought iron fences. The mason works on porches, so he should
have
a
name or two to give you.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The number of "metal" listings in your yellow pages.

I'd be willing to guess that a yellowpages.com search for "mason" is
going to return more businesses than a yellowpages.com search for
"wrought iron".

My point being that you suggested calling "a" mason to find a wrought
iron guy, but there are more masons to call than wrought iron guys.
g

===================

Even if the number is equivalent (masons vs metal shops), a mason is
likely
to build porches. They *should* be able to provide a name of a wrought
iron
place.

Actually, a metal shop that does NOT do wrought iron should also be able
to
assist with a referral.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Even if the number is equivalent (masons vs metal shops),

But why wouldn't you search for "wrought iron" instead of metal or
mason?

You'd probably be one step closer to a person who would be
knowledgeable in both the repair and replacement of the railing.

=========

This is all academic anyway for some people. I know a few young people
who've never had a land line phone - just cell phones. The yellow pages
phone book may become an archeological relic, and a lot of people may not
have a good online equivalent for their city.