Regarding the accident with the horse - the first vinyl fence products put out were brittle and tended to be moreso with age and UV exposure - the ones put out now are much better about shattering. Bulldinkie, I don't doubt your story, but I think the story is over 10-15 years old. Any fencing, if hit by a large horse running at full speed (for whatever reason) can break and splinter. I have heard of horses running through wooden post and rail or post and board fences and being staked like that. The light-weight stuff could probably eventually be damaged by a weed whacker, but the heavy duty stuff, no. Vancleaveterry, many people here use white vinyl fencing for horses. I would run a hot-wire along it, but then, I would do the same for almost all horse fencing - it saves on breakage and escapes. And for horses, you NEED the heavy duty, purpose made weight of vinyl, which you probably won't get at a big-box store - you need to go to a fencing company. If you look in most of the horse magazines, they will feature ads from fencing companies - I know EQUUS does. Personally, I happen to like the look of weathered wooden fencing, but do admit that the posts will rot and will have to be replaced after 10-20 years, as will the boards and rails, depending on soil conditions and the wood used and how hard the horses are on fencing ( which is why I like a hot wire or even 2 strands of wire, one at the top to limit chewing and one halfway down to limit rubbing). Mostly, the vinyl fencing is maintenance free, BUT, it will grow algae/mildew, and can turn greenish. A scrubbing or pressure spraying with a bleach solution will turn it back to white, but it is ongoing in humid climates - you either learn to live with it or deal with it. If you want white fences and don't want to paint them every few years, then vinyl is the way to go, although you may have to deal with green algae. Vinyl is also, I think, a bit less expensive, over the long run, than wood.

MY MIL had a staircase like that, and as Kennebunker said, she used a rope hand rail. Is that your only access to the second floor? My MIL's staircase (it was the only one)nearly was the cause of her needing to go live in a nursing home as she became unable to negotiate it when rehabbing a hip replacement. You mentioned g'babies, so it's maybe something you might want to think about before it's an issue. Kid proofing is with gates. I think you could also have fun creating a curved, laminated handrail yourself, once you get some of the other issues sorted out. BTW, I think you water heater is great, just think of all the "free heat" it will throw off! As you get into old houses you might find it very comfortable to pull up a chair and warm your tootsies on the water heater. Do you have a chimney in the attic above that fp? Is there a void where masonry could still be? It wasn't uncommon for fake mantles and hearths to exist when houses were heated with stoves alone. (And you have a stove hole above it.) Molly~

Insofar as arts & crafts style meant honest materials/ design your heavy 6x6 newels/guardrails are fine. By honest materials, I mean shingles and heavy timbers that aren't ashamed about what they are. 20 years previous, Victorians embraced the idea of all forms of sham and pretense. The porch posts were more like table legs writ large. The popular furniture style du jour was expended into the porch, the cornice, and the dormers! If a material could be tortured into a convoluted shape by saw or blade, it was. Or they cast it in plaster and tacked it on. Was it supposed to be emulating ancient stonework? then paint wood it and embed the surface with sand! Instant faux-stone. Things would not always (if ever?) be what they appeared. A&C was a reaction against this, and timber and shingle and natural lines without artifice and pretension were embraced. Your little bungalow is a simple expression of an honest ideal. "Let things be what they are". They _did_ like to use oversize elements, especially on the porch. Think of the huge pyramidal rounded fieldstone piers, and knee-braces and timbered gable decorations. Brutalism is something else entirely. It's about raw unfinished (and intentionally roughened) concrete surfaces. Not 6x6 porch railings. I grew up in a 1938 house that was sort of a stone cape cod and adirondack lodge combo. It had a third-floor interior balcony/catwalk enclosed with 4x6 white pine rails and 6x6 newel posts. Woodsy, but not brutal. The stair treads were solid 6x10's. I should scan the construction photo album from that place some day... Casey

I can vouch for Stubby and Black Locust Company being awesome to collaborate with! Unlike contractors who take months to get back to you, Stubby called me back within minutes! In talking to him today (early January), he said the lead time is 2-3 weeks during the slower months (winter) and up to 8 weeks during peak months (summer). He noted that you can use black locust for anything except structural support so decking boards, stair risers, and railings. Good luck with your project @Tammy.