Custom Ornamental Iron Works

I’m in the process of having an iron front entry and courtyard gate built. I did not like any of the doorhandles I had to choose from, so I hit the Internet. I have spoken with vendors from China to Mexico, and their responsiveness has been questionable at best. When I called ornamental iron works a week ago, I was thrilled to get an actual human being on the phone who could answer my questions. When I needed additional information, I was asked to send an email, and was surprised when the general manager, Marvin, responded to me personally within the hour. Long story short, I ordered my door handles a week ago, and they arrived today in great condition, and even more beautiful than they appeared online. Great customer service. Quality products. Highly recommend

I purchased 7 basket balusters and 7 twisted rod balusters in June 2013 for my indoor stairs based on what I saw on the
website. The website photos showed a relatively smooth finish on my large iMac screen. I also called the company several times and spoke with their sales reps to discuss my application before making the purchase. I asked how rough the finish was and they said it had a bit of texture, but it was definitely appropriate for indoors. I also paid a premium for the oil rub bronze finish, which the website showed as having brown tones with light specs/​sparkles. There was a closeup photo of the bronze finish, and it was very smooth. I called to ask about the bronze finish and the representative said it wasn’t really that smooth, but not that different from the photo. What I got was the most rough-​looking cast iron balusters I have ever seen. When I say rough, I mean that the texture was gritty and the features were inaccurate. It was like their molds were worn out or primitively made. Square shapes had beat up edges and were uneven. Any details in the knobs and twists were barely visible. I’ve dealt with cast iron as a mechanical engineer, and these looked like they were from prototype molds before a final mold is approved. Not at all like the photos on their website. They would barely pass for exterior balusters. And, they were matte black. I called to ask about the bronze finish and they said that was it. I took out a magnifying glass and sure enough, there were faint black specs. I felt somewhat embarrassed by the whole thing. Did I miss something? I mean, they have a very nice website with lots of photos and attentive customer service who answered all of my questions. I must have called 4 or 5 times and asked the same questions in different ways before making my decision. I wanted to make sure there were no surprises. How complicated can this be? After receiving them, I called to see if I could return them, but because of the coating, they were considered a custom product and could not be returned. I ended up using a far less expensive smooth baluster from the hardware store that was hollow, but certainly looked nice for interior use. My total bill was $ 489.82 for 14 balusters that now collect dust in my attic. I wouldn’t even attempt to sell them. They look so cheap. I can’t imagine what it would have cost if I had a long stairway and ordered over $ 1000 of these. I feel completely ripped off by C.O. Iron Works, Inc. They need to show closeups of their actual product, not doctored up stock photos.