'Balustrade' replacement options

[Bob]

I have taken some ancient hardboard panelling off my staircase to reveal some very crappy looking spindles. They are square profile, crappy timber showing lots of wear and tear and some missing, and just nailed top and bottom. I hated the hardboard and replacing that is not an option as far as I am concerned.

So I at least need to replace the spindles.

Other options are, I believe, to replace the handrail also, and further to replace the newel posts.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the handrail. It's solid and in good nick. The paintwork is in poor condition, however, and will need to be stripped. Because it is curved, I know from experience that this will be at least slightly painful.

The newel posts are substantial. Nothing fancy - just square section timber - but solid and very much part of the structure of the staircase. I know it is possible to cut them off near the base and splice new ones on, but I am not convinced that would look very good. Particularly as there is a turn near the top of the stairs and the newel there is continuous to the ground floor.

So my inclination is to replace the handrails and spindles but not the newels. Does this sound practical? The systems I have come across seem to assume newel replacement too and this has implications for the way it is all made to fit together.

In case it is relevant, the staircase is closed string.

Bob

[TheScullster]

"Bob" wrote

Hi Bob

Do you mean that the handrail profile is curved, or that the handrail follows a curved path? I recently did a similar exercise (with help from the guys, and possibly gals here). Left the plain square newel posts in place and fitted new handrail between. The difficult bit was getting the angle right for the top end of the handrail, cos my top newel post is twisted. I'm not a joiner, so used engineering solution to attach hand rail to newels - metal brackets chopped in to newels and filled over! Fit the lower base rail to the top of the stair stringer, angle cut each end to meet each newel post. Then angle cut each spindle to fit between base rail and handrail. Try to arrange/space spindles such that there is less than 100mm gap between - cut filler pieces accordingly. One down side to using existing newels is that finished ballustrade may not meet current British Standard for top-of-handrail-height. Mine didn't, but it is still far safer than the "ranch style" plank arrangement it replaced.

HTH

Phil

[John Rumm]

This all sounds very similar to the set I had in my last place. When I did the loft conversion I also "upgraded" the existing stairs to match. I chose to swap out the newel posts as well, but you could achieve it without.

Where I cut the base of the existing newel, I just shaped the stump to round off the corners, and drilled a hole in the top to take the spigot on the new newel.

I don't have a picture to hand of the chopped newel, but I did the same rounding trick on a new section to match - as shown here:

So my inclination is to replace the handrails and spindles but not the

It does not make much difference - the only difficulty not replacing the newel means you can put much of at fixed tenon on both ends of the handrail since you will be limited by how much to can spring the rail and the existing newels.

[Bob]

Sorry - it was a bit ambiguous, wasn't it? I meant the profile.

That's useful to know - I'll look for that thread.

Hmm.. funny you should mention the twisting. Looking directly down from the landing I noticed mine is a bit twisted too.

Thanks for the tips. I may be back!

Bob

[Bob]

Thanks - that's useful. I can see how something like that might work for me.

Bob

[Jim K]

richard burbidge do asstd spindle designs incl in metal

fitted pic abt 1/2 way down page)

I retro fitted these to an old balustrade to match in with the same on a new staircase. I stripped but left the square section newels and rails in place and attached the RB brackets and spindles in between - looks good (to us!)

Jim K