In 1971, Led Zeppelin released the song “Stairway to Heaven,” an eight-minute masterpiece that would go on to claim a memorable place in rock and roll history. If you are looking to build a memorable masterpiece for your home, consider turning to long-time NJBIA member Glen Rock Stairs Corporation (GRS) for one of their custom made staircases.
GRS designs, manufactures, and installs custom wooden stairs and railings, as well as wood and metal balusters. They officially opened in 1950, when Nick Postma bought the company where he was working at, Faber and Sons Stair, which included the home on the property as well as the garage where the stairs were manufactured. Faber and Sons Stair has a long legacy of its own, dating back to 1900.
Nick renamed the company because of its location in Glen Rock and soon Jim Veenstra, his son-in-law, would join him in the family business with two more generations follow in his footsteps. You want to talk about organizational history; GRS has over 115 years now!
GRS is still growing because it always adapts to the changing times. It expanded its manufacturing capabilities to meet increased demand for custom residential and commercial stairs, which meant relocating in 1980 to larger premises in Franklin Lakes. Today, the company employs over 25 people and has a fleet of vehicles for its business operations.
“First impression are lasting,” is an axiom that most of us identify with. Well, staircases are often the first thing a person sees when entering a house or business location, so you can make a great first impression with your stair choice. That’s where GRS experts can help you decide what’s best for you as the choices are many, such as circular stairs, flared stairs, straight stairs and spiral stairs.
That may be the easiest of choices as next you have to select your “stringer” type. A stringer is the long board that supports a stair’s length and to which other stair components are attached. You’ll then move onto the many step options, which seems simple enough but there’s more than meets the eye here as well. Considerations include: step depth and breadth; step height or rise; room height, landing size and desired angle of ascent; not to mention wood type and finish. With that in mind, would you like a square starting step, volute starting step, turn out step, quarter-turn step or bowed-tread starter step?
All of this can become very confusing to a layperson, which is why their expertly designed website offers many ways to educate the viewer, such as their “Know Your Stairs” Glossary. It contains over 50 words, starting with “balcony” and ending with “wall rail.”
GRS has the skill, technique, materials and experience to provide their customers with a memorable finished project. They also have 20,000 square feet of production space at their facility in Franklin Lakes along with a showroom that sits right next to the manufacturing area, giving anyone a great view of what’s possible.
Congratulations to GRS for their long-term success as a family-owned business in New Jersey and for their support of NJBIA. To learn more, visit them at www.glenrockstairs.com or maybe there Facebook page.
Glen Rock Stairs is just one of 20,000 companies that comprise NJBIA’s membership, which is very diverse with representation from an amazingly large and wide spectrum of fields, industries and professions. Look for more unique stories about NJBIA members in future issues of “Beyond 10 West Lafayette,” NJBIA’s membership blog.
