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BalusterPro

BalusterPro

Released: 2009-02-19
© 2009 Greg Gabrio
BalusterPro - QR Code
Version 3.0
4+
Download on the App Store
Version 3.0
4+
Download on the App Store
Released: 2009-02-19
© 2009 Greg Gabrio

iPhone Screenshots

Screenshot
Screenshot
Screenshot

Description

***Named one of the top 100 new home products for 2011 in This Old House magazine***
BalusterPro is a unique and handy tool designed for carpenters and woodworkers, but useful for do-it-yourselfers and homeowners alike. BalusterPro makes the chore of calculating spacing of handrail balusters a quick and elementary task.  It can also be used for any job requiring equal spacing between boards or slats.  Use for picket fences, bench/chair backs,decking or column flutes.
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What users are saying:
Punch in staircase and handrail dimensions, choose the configuration, and this app saves you the tedium of calculating baluster spacing. Hallelujah.
This Old House Magazine
BalusterPro is an awesome app and can be used for a multitude of layout tasks, at your desk, on the job, in your car—wherever your phone goes, and it only costs a few bucks.
Gary Katz - Master finish carpenter and publisher of THISiscarpentry.com
BalusterPro makes building that stairway more heavenly
homefixated.com
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Instructions for Use:
BalusterPro offers calculations for six different common handrail situations which you may encounter.  First, tap the settings button to select your measurement input method, then select the desired type of baluster installation. Use the keypad or sliders to enter your measurements for ‘Run Length’ (distance between the newel posts) and the ‘Baluster Width.’  Finally, just drag the ‘Balusters Needed’ slider to see your required number of balusters. As you adjust the ‘Balusters Needed’ slider, the “Spacing Between Balusters” will simultaneously update. Stop when your ‘Spacing Between Balusters’ meets your specific code requirements. Tap the view button to see a list of all the centers and edges of the balusters. No longer will you need to keep pressing the add button on your traditional calculator to list your centers....they are all shown on one screen! It’s just that simple! You can display your measurements by selecting 1/16, 1/32, or metric on the main screen to determine your precision level. If desired you can also display your result down to 1/64. To do this, once you have done your calculation, simply tap the 'Spacing Between Balusters' result and if possible it will be further reduced down to 1/64 and displayed for 5 seconds. This is handy if you want to cut all your fillets at once as it nearly eliminates cumulative error. Tap the speak buttons at the bottoms of the list columns to have the app speak your measurements.
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Check out my other construction related apps...StairBuilderPro for a stair stringer layout tool & TilePro for a simple tile layout tool.
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Check out the video demo at my website to see BalusterPro in action.

What's New in Version 3.0

Added a voice feature where the app will read your layout measurements to you one by one. Start the speak feature..pull your tape and go! No need to keep looking back at your phone.
Increased maximum stair angle.
Bug fixes

Seller

Information

Developer

Categories

Version

3.0

Size

4.9 MB

Game Center

No

VPP Device Licensing

Yes

Rating

Rated: 4+

Compatibility

iOS 7.0 or later

Devices

iPad Air (Cellular), iPad mini Retina (Cellular), iPad mini 4 (Cellular), iPad mini 3, iPad Pro (11-inch), iPad Air 2, iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation), iPad Pro (11-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad mini (5th Generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Air (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro (10.5-inch) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, iPad Pro (Cellular), iPad Pro (9.7-inch) (Cellular), iPad Pro (9.7-inch), iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone XS Max, iPad Pro (10.5-inch), iPhone XS, iPad mini (5th Generation), iPad (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular, iPad Pro, iPod touch (6th Generation), iPad Air 2 (Cellular), iPad mini 4

Languages

English

App Store: Customer Ratings

Ratings & Reviews

4.5 of 5 (45 Ratings)

App Store: Customer Reviews

2016-04-06

Worth every penny!

I'm a residential carpenter and I love this app! It has saved me some much time and money while at the same time making for a much nicer final product. I not only use the app to lay-out balusters but also to lay-out wainscoting, coffered ceilings, shelving and even fencing.
CTH slim
Version 3.0
2015-06-01

Nice!

This is a fantastic tool. As a finish carpenter I use it almost daily for a variety of layout tasks not just baluster spacing. An invaluable app I think is a must have for any carpenter. Also new voice feature is pretty cool.
Cyclops1
Version 3.0
2014-08-11

Very nice!!! Muito bom!!! Mucho bueno

You can use to do cabinets, wainscoting, coffer ceiling etc...
Muito bom app, pode ser usado em varias coisas que leva layout
Alalvi
Version 1.2
2014-04-30

Stair reno

What an awesome find. Took all the guess work and calculations out of my project. Entered in a few basic numbers and then make the marks at the designated points. Could not be any simpler!!
It took me less than 5 minutes to calculate 2 runs and a slope. THANK YOU!
DanB54
Version 2.0.3
2014-03-11

It's so easy!

I just completed layout and installation of tapered balusters for my remodel and this app was much more than handy... It was huge time-saver. Every worked out perfectly and to code.
Thanks for a great app!!
Btw- iPhone 5 has digital angle finder built in to the "Compass" feature which works very well at getting the railing angle.
HB Homes
Version 2.0.3
2013-08-25

Really good

Best app I've bought so far. I use it all the time. And all my balusters are always perfect.
Lascarez
Version 2.0.3
2013-05-17

Makes Life A Lot Easier!

This app is a must have for contractors. You can even use it to estimate how much material you'll need. A real time saver.
Kittster808
Version 2.0.3
2012-12-08

Great App

After spending an hour doing math to layout interior balusters I broke down and purchased this app. A few minutes later and I was installing them. Great resource!
KRONCO99
Version 2.0.3
2012-10-28

Simple and effective

Just got this app to lay out deck railings and it made this job so easy.
Only wish I had it years ago.
Thanks
JR
Remodman
Version 2.0.3
2012-07-06

Great App

This app does everything you need to make installing balusters as easy as possible. I love it.
Blchar
Version 2.0.3
2012-06-23

Best app ever!

Most useful app I ever purchased! Though I am an experienced framer. I am not much of a finish carpenter. I have only built one deck with balusters. And used this app for the only interior stair railings I have ever built. After spending over an hour trying to figure out the formula for correct spacing, which by the way never came out right. Ugh! I searched and found this app. It worked flawlessly and my spacing came out perfect! It saved me so much time and stress. Thank you! I will recommend it to everyone I know.
Flashmaster123
Version 2.0.3
2012-01-20

Amazing

Great app saves a ton of time and easy to use.
Metalsdmf
Version 2.0.3
2011-10-28

FANTASTIC!!!

We were in the final stages of completing our 26' x 16' deck, and we were ready to install the railing and balusters. However, we were a little intimidated in making sure that the balusters were all spaced respectfully. After some frustration, I sat down and thought, "What the heck? I might as well shoot for a chance that there just may be some kind of app for this?!?" Sure enough, there was! I've never written a review on an app before, but this one was very worthy. Excellent tool!
Okieboy1981
Version 2.0.3
2011-02-06

Rails made easy!

I am finding this app to be very useful. Intuitive and easy to use.
knock on wood
Version 2.0.3
2011-01-04

WindKnot

Very Nice! Saves me a lot of time and paper. 5 stars for sure!
Wind_Knot
Version 2.0.3
2011-01-02

Works great

Very useful, used it many times for work already.
Poochibunz
Version 2.0.3
2011-01-02

Many other uses, but worthy of a look

Pros:
It takes some spacial dimensioning of the mind and of the actual job to understand what this program is asking of you for input, just a few more fields would have worked alot better and helped with a few DIY'ers. The graphic diagrams depicted in the initial program for input start, might throw you off if you don't understand what the reference for graphic vs application to your job is heading towards.
It will do deck boards for decking, it will do spacing for decking, it will do railing almost as advertised barely, but you have to understand the fields which are not set up for what you are wanting to apply it to. if you can input actual parameters of existing condition that show post placement and then work with spacing then you may be able to finaggle a working solution to existing projects.
Cons:
The input fields lack precise measurements or placements of Posts which affect the the balluster & handrail placement along the rungs of railing. If you can't input the posts then show a distance of the railing between posts with ballusters attached then you won't be helped by this program.
Overall: I use this program with another un-named stair app to get a rough idea of what materials numbers I may need, but for precise cuts and numbers, I'd stick to on the job actual real measurements infield rather than an app that doesn't allow actual in-field measurements for angles of rise &run.
Am I clear on this?, The app is good, yet will not allow anything besides infield experience to get the real job done in a pinch. I paid for it, it is a cheat sheet for a quick answer but lacking without further fields of real world dilemmas. If you re-model for a living, then this is really not for you. If you are going to build spec houses, then this may work.
4 out of 5 for the cheat features found in this app.
RedpawGraphics
Version 2.0.3
2010-12-09

New version on balusterpro

Nice job Greg. With the new kb interface this is an awesome app. I am a remodeling contractor and this app has been very useful in building decks, railings, pergolas, arbors, fences and a while lot more. Any task where you are looking for uniform spacing of objects is a good fit for this app. Again, well done.
Heisener
Version 2.0.1
2010-12-02

Crashes

App crashes when you click on flat run balisters attached. Tried on two phones
Gbelcik
2010-10-09

Just Friggn AWESOME!!!!

I just finished rebuilding/expanding my deck and this app was a total lifesaver!! It made installing the balusters the easiest part of the job. Someone commented that they wish it handled longer runs, I can only assume this person didn't realize that "maximum run" is configurable in settings, I don't think there's a prob here. And while I agree that straight entry would be a little better than sliders, I soon figured out that if you change the "max run" to be just a tad larger than your actual run, it's not so touchy and you have more control.
Bottom line is, if nothing ever changes in this app, it's still worth every cent.
Bromo999
2010-06-09

Incredible!

This app really saved me today. I was going crazy trying to figure out the spacing on some wall paneling I was doing. I searched all over the place for a calculator of some sort of equation. I can't explain how useful this has been. Thanks
Siegrist
2010-02-25

Update Needed!!!!!

The input interface needs to be changed. The slider is odd.
eli6156
2009-12-26

Great Job...

Love the app... Would like to see the ability to set the measurements with the keypad instead of the touchy sliders. Also would like to be able to compute longer runs.
TrimKing
2009-12-24

Very helpful tool

I had to rebuild a large deck railing with many different span lengths between posts. I was amazed that there was an iPhone app for this and I thought "If I were walking through the hardware store and saw a calculator for this purpose on sale for $2.99, I'd buy it in an instant. So I bought this app and it worked perfectly!
Highly recommended!
ixodid
2009-09-26

Baluster Pro

This is a great tool. I own a small construction company and we do a lot of trim work, stairs, & balusters. This App is so fast and easy to use. I had 2 capenters laying out the centers for the baluster runs in seconds not minutes.
I wish that it could do longer spacing though.
spastic1
2009-08-21

fixer-upper

This app is SWEET! I'm a home owner/fixer and this was a real time saver especially after going onto all the web sites that tell you how do calculate. My god you need to have a math degree to figure out most of these formulas! If I were to improve it I would allow to put in the spacing per local code and then let it calculate how many balusters you would need. Simple is good, Thanks!
landmine55
2009-07-03

Great tool

Excelent tool, just wish you could enter values with keyboard, the sliders a little jumpy.
Dingo Warrior
2009-06-28

great but

Ok this app Would be perfect.
You have to make sure you readjust the number of balusters needed if any change is made in run.
Only when you adjust balusters needed does it recalculate.
Support is great and fast also.
ctchrisf
2009-05-29

Handy, but hard to use

No more troublesome math, but the controls are these tricky little scroll bars that hardly ever stop where you want them to.
Downs26
2009-05-09

This is cool

I am a finish carpenter by trade and this app is a very useful tool. Quick, easy and accurate. A must have for any carpenter.
nailbiter100
2009-04-11

Contractor

Awesome app!
Egreen1
2009-04-02

Construction

This app works very well! I've been looking around for something like this for awhile. I used this app to finally calculate the railing sections on my new deck to complete the job! I am very impressed! And wow!!!! This just got better with the latest version!!!!! I can now layout my centerlines and check my my board placement as I install my boards! AWESOME!!!!!!!
Pattern King