Shoring up a stair railing...

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  • cooterbrown
    Forum Newbie
    • Mar 2013
    • 30

    Shoring up a stair railing...

    Hey,

    Last night I was walking upstairs to my kids rooms and noticed how lose and wobbly the stair rail had become.

    The house is 15 years old - so it's pretty conventional stuff here. nothing exotic.

    Most of the posts are very loose and wobble and clatter in their railing holes.

    I have never dealt with this sort of thing.

    Looking for advice on HOW to firm everything back up again/get everything tight/stabilize the railing again.

    Any help is appreciated! Thanks!
  • Hellrazor
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2003
    • 2091
    • Abyss, PA
    • Ridgid R4512

    #2
    To make repairs without pulling them completely apart:

    One option is to drill and inject glue into the joints. Another option is to mechanically fasten them with screws. Or you could do both.

    Comment

    • JR
      The Full Monte
      • Feb 2004
      • 5633
      • Eugene, OR
      • BT3000

      #3
      I was going to make a snarky remark about calling Tom Silva. Then I thought, "Hey, ToH probably has an answer to this problem."

      Sure enough:
      JR

      Comment

      • Carpenter96
        Established Member
        • Aug 2011
        • 178
        • Barrie ON Canada
        • BT 3000

        #4
        If this is a wood rail and balusters then Tom Silva's fix is the way to go.

        Regards Bob

        Comment

        • JimD
          Veteran Member
          • Feb 2003
          • 4187
          • Lexington, SC.

          #5
          Without a picture or more detailed description it's hard to know exactly what you want to fix. If it is just the ballisters rattling in their holes, the wedge or finish nail trick at the link will help. If the handrail itself moves and is not confidence inspiring, you have to look at the ends where it attaches. Carpenters do not do anything magical to attach a handrail. I've had them use staples in a oak handrail on a pretty expensive house. A plugged screw is better than staples. A hanger bolt (screws on one side, threaded bolt on the other) is significantly better. Essentially you have to determine what you have and then decide on how you're going to fix it.

          Comment

          • capncarl
            Veteran Member
            • Jan 2007
            • 3564
            • Leesburg Georgia USA
            • SawStop CTS

            #6
            I fixed a wobbly handrail on a set that would be waaaaay to much to take down and repair by using a Kreg pocket hole jig. Clamped the jig to the post a little farther from the edge than normal to give more wood in the post and screwed it together with several long Kreg type screws. It was finished by inserting a wooden peg dodad that is made for pocket hole screws, and restained. This even worked well for loose ballisters.
            capncarl

            Comment

            • JSUPreston
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2005
              • 1189
              • Montgomery, AL.
              • Delta 36-979 w/Biesemyere fence kit making it a 36-982. Previous saw was BT3100-1.

              #7
              I know this is absolutely no help, but I got the mental image of Clark Griswold in the Christmas Vacation movie taking his chainsaw to the newel post.
              "It's a dog eat dog world out there, and I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear."- Norm (from Cheers)

              Eat beef-because the west wasn't won on salad.

              Comment

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