Installing a handrail will guarantee safety while traveling up a set of stairs.
If you are planning to install a handrail along a stairwell going to the second story of a house or building, then the project will involve a lot of work. However, much of it is repetitive. Once you have the general idea of what you are doing and get the first few parts of the rail and baluster installed and mounted, the rest of the project will be fairly smooth and easy. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Use the speed square and a straight edge to outline where the posts and ballasts are going to be set for the handrail. Trace the outline of the base of the post onto the step where it will be set. Drill four corner holes into the step where the post is outlined, and cut out the post hole with a jigsaw.
2. Insert the post through the opening. Use a level to ensure it is at the plumb line. Drill and screw the post into the stair riser. Screw in two bolts with a socket wrench to secure the post permanently to the stairwell. Cut off the end of a dowel rod, and glue it into the post to cover up the bolts. Repeat the same process for the post at the top of the stairs. However, do not bolt it in permanently until you check to ensure it is the correct angle. Depending on your design, you may have twists or turns in your stairwell, in which case you will need multiple posts on the way up.
3. Use a level and measuring tape to determine the length of the balusters. Check to make sure that the balusters will be the same length for the entire distance of the stairwell. You may need to adjust the angle of the actual handrail by raising or lowering the upper post. If the stairs have been built correctly, then if you have the same length of post on top as you do on the bottom, then all of the measurements for the balusters should be the same.
4. Clamp the railing to the inside of the posts at the angle and distance from the stairwell determined from the previous step. Trace and outline the rail on the post where you will cut a tab onto the top of the post and where the rail will be mounted. Cut a tab on either side of the post, similar to the tongue of a tongue-and-groove joint. Use a router to cut the groove along the entire bottom length of the handrail. Use a chisel and sandpaper to clean any rough edges left after the cuts.
5. Install the hand rail, and drill a shank hole into the hand rail and post joint. You can either bolt the handrail into the posts, or use wooden dowels to secure the rail ends.
6. Set the balusters into the groove on the handrail. Measure, mark and drill holes into the steps so that the balusters are equidistant from each other. The length between balusters will depend on the design of your stairwell.
7. Install the balusters by nailing them from the bottom and the top, using finish nails. Use paint putty to seal up the finish nail holes on the top of the handrail.
Tags: balusters will, hand rail, holes into, post stairs, post where
