How is the wood finished that you are installing the ballusters into?

Hi Millwork Man - they are standard oak staircase we are having it sanded and refinished before installation of the new balusters.

Definitely more of a challenge then as I was going to suggest a Hilti 2-part epoxy in the hole if painting. You still could use this but it will not be stainable, and they definitely need to be set in something to keep your staircase rigid.

This post was edited by millworkman on Sat, Sep 6, 14 at 8:17

Then I probably should go with the 3/4 inch then?

I would.....

Me too.

The other thing to consider if you're shrinking the size of your balusters is that the resultant spacing might be more than the code-required 4" maximum. So the wider balusters would prevent that problem.

Chantelle:

I would figure out some sort of escutcheon to cover the holes and hold the balusters. This will look like it was incorporated into the design instead of looking like a repair.

This post was edited by Trebruchet on Sun, Sep 7, 14 at 11:09

Thanks for your responses. We are purchasing the iron shoes as well so that they can cover the holes. If we end up using the 2 part epoxy this might be nicely hidden with the shoes. I can't imagine this not being a typical problem for most people who replace wood ballusters with iron ones! I can't seem to find any advice online regarding this issue!

Try contacting the company you're buying the balusters and shoes from. I had a few questions when planning mine, and got some useful phone advice.