How do you figure spacing on balusters for a hand rail? I have a 44″ space between 4×4’s, and am using 3/4″ round alum. balusters.
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you've got 44''. You want 4'' or less between them. 11 spaces about 4'' with 10 balusters. Each baluster is 3/4''............so the balusters take up 7-1/2''. 44 - 7.5 = 36.5''..............divided by 11=3.32 inches between each baluster.
edit: welcome to BT
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 11/13/2006 9:58 pm ET by calvin
Is that 3.32 to the first spindle or do you lose 1/2 a spindle in the post so it looks right?
To the first spindle...You already subtracted for them.
Like posted above, you've got the same spacing either side and between all balusters.
I think, I was doing billing.
I'd better check the invoices.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Your method is what I use. It gets complicated though when all your posts aren't evenly spaced....
I hate it when someone doesn't make all the baluster spaces even. This usually occurs on exterior balusters - like on decks - the 2 end spaces. And it really gets on my nerves when the 2 ends spaces are not equal to the other spaces or to each other either...
Depending on the look you are going for and the size of the baluster, sometimes it looks cool to make the spaces much smaller than 4" - like maybe 2.5". Like maybe on the front porch of a historic looking house in the city. Kind of creates a bit of a visual screen. Even when guard rails aren't required - say the porch walking surface is 12" off the grade - I like baluster spacing at a max of 3.5". Six inches spacing looks appropriate on slum houses... ;-)
I've read here that some areas require 42" tall rails on decks - I don't like the look - I call it the playpen look. :-) On historic looking houses with low porches, I even put them at 32" high.
>> How do you figure spacing on balusters for a hand rail? I have a 44" space between 4x4's, and am using 3/4" round alum. balusters. <<
You can't go over 4" in between. You have 3/4" balusters. Add 3/4" to the 4" and you get 4.75".
44/4.75 = 9.263158" (Use 9 as your baluster amountwith 10 spaces)If it was 9.5 and higher you would use 10 as your amount.
9 x .75 = 6.75
44 - 4.75 = 37.25
37.25/10 = 3.725" (Spacing in bewteen each baluster starting from 4x4's)
6 decimal places hu? :-) Do you sleep with that construction master? :-)
Edited 11/14/2006 6:37 am ET by Matt
He's a whiz with that thing, ain't he? I've got more computer print-outs of Joe's math and diagrams than I can count. I could start a book for him. View Image
Do you use one? I never got one cause I didn't think I'd use it enough, and it would be one of those kind of deals where I read the instructions, get it all figured out, and then 4 months later, when it's time to use it, I'd forget how the darn thing works... I can see how it could be invaluable to a framer though... I can do 90% of what I need on a cheap calculator and have a TI with 23 buttons for anything else. Although I will say that I won't buy any calculator that doesn't have a square root key...
I have four of 'em. One on my desk, one in my briefcase, one in my toolbelt, and a backup in the truck in case the one in my belt get's trashed or something. I use them constantly. But Joe's figured out a lot more than I have with that thing. I use mine mostly for roof framing, and as you know, that's a career's worth of learning right there in and of itself. But it's the shortcuts and other oddball tasks that Joe posts about that I love reading. The ellipse calculation was the one I think I most recently printed out.View Image
Brian,I always square up the foundations with it. I don't bother with multiples of 3-4-5 anymore. I use the exact length and width and that's it. Everybody cracks up when I pull up to the job the first day and look at the foundation and then....BANG........ the calculator comes out and we find out if the mason is in trouble or not.....;-)Joe Carola
Joe, a most excellent use of a calculator.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
always square up the foundations with it. I don't bother with multiples of 3-4-5 anymore. I use the exact length and width and that's it. Everybody cracks up when I pull up to the job the first day and look at the foundation and then....BANG........ the calculator comes out and we find out if the mason is in trouble or not.....;-)
The mason and the builder....more so the builder.
The pathagarian therom / the hypotenous of a right triangle with C being the hypotenous and A and B being the L shaped 90.
C = square root of A squared + B squared.
My fondation sub always starts with a square of the largest dimensions of the home, front to back and side to side. He makes sure the diagonials of the square are equal. Everything lays out from the original square. Framer loves his "on the money" work and he keeps me out of trouble.
Many moons ago when I was framing we started a home with differance of 3 1/2" from side to side at the front compared to the back. The builder told me to frame it square out into the yard. He fixed the concrete later.
>> The mason and the builder....more so the builder. <<Why would the foundation being out of square be the builders fault and not masons fault?If the mason can't square a foundation, then he should pack it in.If I frame my walls out of plumb, is it the builders fault and not my dumb a$$ who should get blamed? It's my dumb a$$, not the builder. If the builder keeps using the same mason that can't square up a foundation and a framer that can't plumb walls, then the builder is a dumb a$$.Then the dumb a$$ Three Stooges should go play together and build sand castles somewhere.Every trade is responsible for their own actions.
Joe Carola
>> The mason and the builder....more so the builder. <<
Why would the foundation being out of square be the builders fault and not masons fault?
Sorry, differance in area speak and methods. Here masons have nothing to do with the type of foundations our company uses. I was thinking you were making reference to the trouble a mason may have laying brick on a building that is out of square.
Every trade is responsible for their own actions.
True, but if a frame, foundation or anything is out of square, the builder get flack and trouble from the HO. Doubt can arise in the HO about his abilities, and everthing else becomes suspect. The HO does not really want to know why the foundation crew, framer or anybody else screwed up, they want to know why the builder let it happen. They generally do not want to know who screwed it up, but how the builder is going to fix the problem. When all is said and done, if a sub screws something up...the builder is responsible. In my long history, I have had subs screw things up and disappear. Where is the remedy....on my shoulders.
>> True, but if a frame, foundation or anything is out of square, the builder get flack and trouble from the HO. Doubt can arise in the HO about his abilities, and everthing else becomes suspect. The HO does not really want to know why the foundation crew, framer or anybody else screwed up, they want to know why the builder let it happen. They generally do not want to know who screwed it up, but how the builder is going to fix the problem. When all is said and done, if a sub screws something up...the builder is responsible. In my long history, I have had subs screw things up and disappear. Where is the remedy....on my shoulders. <<I know all that. That's totally different then what I was talking about. I was talking about Builders and their subs blaming eachother. If a mason can't square a foundation and a framer can't square and plumb walls, then they should find something else to do because they can't blame anyone but themselves.Joe Carola
OK, no problem...just a bit of misunderstanding.
Live long and propsper. Have a good weekend.
Semi-Retired Framer (1971 - current small personal projects) aka txlandlord
It is 8:20 AM in New Jersey...is it raining or snowing, are you waiting on the next job or are you making payroll?
In Texas my framer is already taking his lunch break and it is only 7:20. : - )
>> 6 decimal places hu? :-) Do you sleep with that construction master? :-) <<Yes I do. I can tell what angle my wife is laying and the run by her body length as the diagonal and the the back of her head to me as the rise..........;-)Joe Carola
Don't let her know though... she will think you are some kind of carpenter geek :-) BTW - do you have the pocket protector to go with the CM? In my job, sometimes I'll find myself running around the construction site with 4 or 5 different types of writing instruments in my top pocket... I'm really concerned about damaging my macho image ;-)
BTW - the framers know and fear my green magic marker :-)
This is one of those topics that seems to have puzzled man. I attached an Excel spreadsheet doing the layout. I too hate when the two end spaces don't match the rest of the spacing. I also keep this spreadsheet in the IPAQ for on the job stuff.
PS Construction master rocks
Dave Otto -- Otto Construction -- PA
Rule of thumb that I use that will comply with all codes in my area is to space balusters such that a nothing larger than a 4" diameter object can pass thru.
If you're like me and feel like you did enough math in school (or maybe you didn't -and that's the problem!), you'll like this trick, even if you can't always apply it.
You know those expandable, scissoring coat racks - the kind that stretch or collapse to fit any space? Since the distance between intersections always stays equal, you can use one of those things for laying out ballusters, posts etc.
Of course, you've got to find one that will go the distance while staying under 4" per space.
Figuring out a baluster is just like figuring out a wall with a buch of windows and equal spacing in between. The windows are the balusters. If you have 9 windows, you have 10 spaces.
If you have a 24' wall and the rough opening is 2' on each window.
9 x 24 = 216
288 - 216 = 72
72/10 = 7.2" (Space in between widows)
you either start with a baluster in the center of the span or you start with a "space between the balusters" as the center. Space should not be greater than 4". You can adjust the spacing down below 4" if it ends up looking better. The best spacing would leave one have of a unit of space at each end(2" if you are using 4" spaces)
The way I usually figure the space is to start by finding the number of ballasters first and then the spacing. Subtract 4" from the span leaving 40", then divide that by 4"+balaster width, which gives us 9 (rounded up to the next whole number).
With 9 ballasters you'll have 10 spaces. The amount of space left over for the spacers is 44"-the 9 ballasters=37.25". That divided by 10 is 3.725".
It sound anal, but when building stairs I typically use a dial caliper to check lengths. Otherwise, being off even 1/32" over 32 ballasters leads to the oddball last gap. I have a construction master and use it, although the dial caliper works better in decimal mode so that's what's used.
Double check half way through to allow space to adjust as needed so all gaps appear the same.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
First establish the width of the balusters.
Next establish the maximum spacing allowed between.
Add the width of the baluster to the maximum spacing and subtract 1/8"
Now you have your maximum center to center measurement.
Get a spiffy set of dividers.
Starting from the center of the run, step it off with the divders set for the maximum center to center measurement. See hoqw it works out. Need be either shift centers to make the center of the run the center of a space between balusters or adjust the spacing of the dividers down until you have the desired effect.
Remember, the marks are for the center of the baluster, so if it's 1" and the mark is only 1 1/2" off of the post, the baluster will be 1" off of the post.
ALso, if the balusters are tapered, you can only add the width at the narrowest point to the max spacing.
Souns more complicated than it is. I can lay out a hundred feet of inside rail in ten minutes this way.