Our story so far: My husband built a balcony off the choir loft in the 126-year-old Methodist church we were turning into our home.

# # #

More urgent that carpeting: A railing. Walking near the edge of the plywood was unnerving. When all we had was a doorway to nowhere, I urged Tyler to cordone off the scary maw. But with thirty-plus feet of balcony edge, there was no way to create temporary safety barriers.

We returned to the local manufacturer where we fantasized about a spiral staircase. The proprietor offered to let us mix-and-match her overstock railing spindles in the back room. We pawed through a half dozen dusty boxes (imagine how black the dust in an iron welding joint can be), and we were rewarded with enough forty-two-inch spindles to create a traditional wrought iron railing with a hint of upscale details.

The proprietor also paid us a visit at the church to measure and discuss the details of the stairway, which would take eight to twelve weeks to fabricate.

# # #

Tomorrow: More ceilings. See them here.