Hi there,
I’m finishing the attic of a 1923 bungalow. The attic has an existing L-shaped stairway, which will work fine; however, it has no balustrade to keep someone upstairs from falling into the stairwell. I hope to build a simple craftsman-style balustrade with 2×2″ balusters and 4×4″ newel posts.
My question is, how do I anchor the newel posts at the ends that stick out into the room? The attic is decked in 3/4″ tongue & groove fir which will be the finish floor. Do I need to remove a few planks in order to bolt the newel posts into the joists underneath, or can I jigsaw a hole in the flooring and somehow anchor them from the side of the stairway? Any advice will be gratefully accepted.
Replies
Framing members around stairwells are usually doubled. If that is true around your stairwell you could use a long bolt specifically made for the task. It is course threaded on one half (like a regular lag screw) and machine treaded on the other end to accept a nut. Overall length about 10-12". Sold at stair supply stores and also at Lowe's.
Locate the center of the outer board of the doubled framing and drill a hole as defined in the directions that come with the bolt. Not knowing the details of your stairwell - that would put the hole about 2 1/4" to 3" away from the opening. Screw the bolt into the framing about 5". Drill a slightly larger clearance hole in the end of the newel post. About 5" up from the end of the post drill a 1 1/2" hole straight into the side of the post but not all the way through, just about 1/2" past the hole you drilled up through the bottom.
Drop the post over the bolt sticking out of the floor and reach in through that 1 1/2" hole and attach the washer and nut that comes with the bolt. Use a 3/4" box wrench and tighten that sucker down. The post is now secure.
Just make sure that the end of your newel is cut square or at least so the post is plumb when it sits on the floor. Glue the plug that come with the bolt into the 1 1/2" hole and sand it flat.
That's the easiest way. Just don't miss the framing with the long bolt.
The next way would be to remove enough floor boards to expose the framing, drop the newel below the floor and bolt it sideways to the framing, then reinstall the floor.
what Ralph said!!!!!!
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PDX: I would dado out the newel so that the centerline of the newel is the face of your wall. You then could have say ten inches of newel that goes down over the face of the balcony and the side of the stairway. This then could be bolted to the framing and hidden with plugs..or if you really want to be discrete...you could open up the floor and lag the newel from inside the framing.
This makes a very secure way of anchoring the newel,,,and very easy to use some adjusting screws behind the dadoed newel to adjust it for level.