Sawdust on the Floor

Hooray, it’s finally time to get to work on the newel post and staircase railing.  In case you haven’t been following this post, several months ago my Grandson slid down the old railing, rendering it very loose and in need of an overhaul. We decided rather than to repair the railing and Newel post, we would upgrade it.  That led to a complete rebuild of the stair case, and the installation of hardwood flooring in the upstairs hall.  And those things needed to be done before I attacked the railing and newel post.

Even though the oldest grandson promises to never try sliding down the railing again, he does have a younger brother, and he is easily lead astray by his older brother.  That being said, I knew that I had to find a better, stronger way the make the railing and newel post. Unless I want to be doing this again in a couple of years.  I love woodworking, but not doing the same thing over and over again. 

I figured that a good place to start on a new design was to analyze what went wrong with the first wooden newel post and railing, other than my grandson’s ride. Or maybe a better way to say it, I wanted to figure out why the rail and newel post became loose.  After some consideration, I realized that the method I had used to connect the original newel post to the house and eventually to the railing was the problem.  To connect the newel post to staircase, I inserted two 3/8” by 8” long lag bolts through the bottom end of the newel post into the rough framing of the stairway. That sounded like a good idea at the time, but in reality it was a bad idea.

Here’s why.  The newel post was 45″ tall and the only connection of the newel post to house were in the bottom 8”. There were two 3/8” by 8” long lag bolts, that ran through the base of newel post into the rough framing of stair case.   The problem was that this was the only connection of the newel post to the house. Ideally the newel post would be secured over its entire length.   To complicate matters more, the connection of the newel post to the railing was somewhat questionable.  I had elected to use simple sheet rock screws for the connection.  From the underside of the railing I predrilled a hole in the railing and then ran the screw into the newel post. While this appeared to be secure when I put it together, it was simply a matter of time before the screws began to loosen up.  While my grandson hastened the demise of the railing and newel post, it really was just a matter of time.  But I don’t think I will ever tell him that.

With all of that in mind, I think I have come up with a better method of building a railing and newel post system. My concept was to build the railing section as a complete unit, rather than components attached to the staircase.  Please bear with me while I try to explain. I have attached a sketch below of what I am trying to explain, hopefully that and my description will help make this clearer. Starting at the base of the stairs, I temporarily vertically installed a piece of 4/4 oak, Piece (A)  It measured 4 3/4″ wide by 45″ tall.  I also temporarily installed another piece of oak at the top of the stair case opening, Piece (B).  The bottom of these second piece was cut to 42°, which is the angle of the staircase.

I used shims as required to ensure that both piece A and B were completely plumb, before taking a measurement for the length of the bottom piece of oak, piece ( C). Both piece B & C  were cut wider than the first (A) piece.  The second and third piece were cut wide enough to cover the width of the framing plus the already installed sheet, plus an allowance for 1″ overhang on both sides. After determining the length of the bottom piece, I added 1 1/2″ to the length. After verifying the 42° angle with the digital protractor I took the bottom piece to the miter saw where I cut both ends of this piece at same 42° Angle. 

The next step sounded easy when I planned it, however as the old saying says, ” The best laid plans of men………” I wanted to cut a notch in the end of this third piece so that it would accept the first piece. If both pieces were to meet at a conventional 90° angle, then I would simply use my tablesaw to cut out the notch. But this notch had to be cut at the same 42 degree angle as the staircase. I tried several different methods to cut this notch, in some scrap lumber, before I finally figured out a method. I used my bandsaw equipped with a rip fence to cut the sides of the notch. These side cuts were stopped short of the final depth.  Then using my Jig saw set to the 42° angle,  I cut out the rest of the notch.  Now I freely admit that my skill with the jig saw needs some improvement because the cut was anything but clean and straight.  But with some sanding and work with a hand file. I was able to clean up the cut.

After cutting the notch in the this third piece (C),  I connected it to the first and second pieces. I used a combination of glue and screws driven from the back side of piece (A) and (B) to make the connection. To make up these joints, all of the piece were removed from the staircase.  After making up the joint. all three pieces were returned temporarily to the staircase. Again, using my digital level and shims as required, the assembly was set to be plumb and level.

The next step was to take a measurement for the railing itself.  Yeah, I know that I could have taken the measurement from the bottom piece, but I really wanted to make sure.  After determining the length, I went back to the miter saw and cut the angle for both ends on a section of railing that I had purchased from the local DIY super store. To ensure that I got the railing installed at the correct position between pieces (A) and (B), I took a couple of moments to cut two spacers out of some plywood I had laying around the shop.  With the miter saw still sat at the 42° angle I cut the spacers.  

Back in the house, I removed the first three pieces once again. Than using the spacers as guidelines, I attached the railing between the first and second piece of oak. I took the precaution of using a couple long pipe clamps to hold the assembly together while I installed three 3″ long screws into both ends of the railing.  These were driven from the back side of the first and second boards. Because these screws would be driven at an angle, and I wanted the faces of the screw heads to be flush with the back of the oak boards I used a counter sink bit on the pre drilled holes in the two vertical boards.

The height of the railing is a critical item.  Conventional wisdom says that the railing should be between 34″ and 36″ above the height of the stair tread.  Mine is installed at 34 1/4″.  But to be safe it would be a good idea to check with your local building inspector for the local requirements.

One last time I reinstalled the assembly back on the stair case, but not before applying a good healthy bead of construction adhesive between the assembly and the house framing. Then taking a lot of time to ensure that everything was once again plumb and level, shims were used as needed, I attached the assembly with a multitude of 3 and 4″ long screws driven through the oak into the house framing.

There were nine screws driven into the joint of the bottom of board (A) and the base of the stair case.  Along the length of the bottom board(C), the 4″ long screws were kept in the center of the board.  These screws would later be covered but the spindles.  On the upper vertical board (B), the screws were all installed within 1″ of each side, these would later be covered by trim work. Unfortunately as I was installing this upper board, I found that it tended to bow out, so I was forced to install one 4″ long screw directly in the center of the board.  I considered using a bright brass screw and a finish washer for this screw, but this would really highlight it and I wanted it to be inconspicuous, so I stayed with a black sheet rock .

Installation of the spindles and the construction of the newel post remain, but that is for another time.  Right now, its time to clean up the tools and vacuum up my mess.

For more information on or to purchase any of the products discussed in this post, please click on the highlighted links and images in the post.

Related posts:

1. Woodworking Project:Building a New Staircase
2. Woodworking Projects: Rebuilding the Stairway Part IV