Rails in Time for Christmas

This was a fun little project taken on before Christmas. The client had seen some of my other acrylic work for another client. He has a late seventies-early eighties home that he has done very nice updates to. The project was to replace the original 2x4 rails with something more modern to match his other updates and furnishings.
After several rounds of design ideas we focused in on steel and frosted acrylic. Since the rail divides the entry space from the loft space, we wanted the rail to transmit light while providing better privacy. Also the former 2 x 4 rails were not the prettiest thing, but they were saved for another use later!!!!

(The final design is on the right)



I had to install the rail one half at a time because 2 of the six panels had to be custom cut, the others were off cut scraps from a KC plastics company. The off cut scraps are generally quite a bit cheaper than the custom cuts, and often they get thrown out.

The client came back in and painted the trim and did minor drywall touch-ups.


The rails are made from uni-strut that is normally used to hang conduit and fixtures in commercial settings. It worked well for this application because it is stiff and is easy to connect. I used a grinder to polish the steel then coated with a low VOC clear finish to protect the shine.
The uni-strut rail system worked so well that I intend to use it in other situations, like awnings and privacy screens.