You know when a straight handrail dies into a wall? Seems like the common practice is to use a 1/2 newel post, instead of a full one. Anyone understand why we do that? Looks goofy to me, like 1/2 a newel post. What, is the other 1/2 supposed to be burried in the wall or something? Maybe I’m missing something.
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Replies
Interesting point to think about, probably just one of those things that someone did once it caught on and no one until you was smart enough to question lol
Who's Brinkman?
About the newell: I think it'd look odd to put a full, turned newell against the wall; I think a newell, at least flattened on one side wooks better. So if that ain't your idea of good, the do it your way.
Edited 11/20/2002 11:13:57 PM ET by Gary Weisenburger
I thought George Bush was a brink man?
I would think it started more for its strength. A rail attached to free standing newel posts at opposite ends wont be as strong as a rail tied into a wall. Only certain designs of newels wouldnt look odd butt up against the wall. Youd have to alter most to some degree to make it work.....so why not split it down the center?
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
damn, jimbob, dere you go again... why is the sky blue ?
why do you tap the nail before you hit it ?
why do you start painting at the top of the gable end ?...
now you pull out the old 1/2 newel question
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
My guess is that the practice dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. You know: column vs. pilaster. Kinda funny when you think about it: we're still reproducing profiles and proportions that those guys identified way back then -- and without computers no less!
That was my thought. Columns, pillasters, and entablatures are basic classical elements. We repeat them in door casings, fireplace surronds, decorative niches, etc. I like a nicce pillaster growing out of the wall, myself. I think a half newel just follows that thought.
From a practical side, it's darn hard to paint and stain the back side of a full newel placed against the wall and like someone said, it is more structurally sound to have it connected to the wall.
If you don't like half newels, you can use rosettes..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." --Marcus Aurelius
I guess "beauty if in the eye of the beholder". I've always thought good details stand up to close scrutiny if you notice them, but they shouldn't "catch" the eye. These 1/2 newels always seems to draw my attention.
Maybe it's me. Maybe because I know they are 1/2, I look for them. I wonder what they look like to someone not in the trades...guess I'd better do a test.
That rosette you posted a photo of looks okay in that application, piffin, painted ballusters, short return, sort of mimimalist visual impact. You have some serious paralax in that photo, huh? If you expose your shots one or two shutter speeds longer you could get a lot more detail in the shadows, like in that fireplace for example. You get the same effect by opening your aperture, but you change depth of field when you do it that way.
Brinkmann for president in '04
Yep, the reason we used the rosette there was the short run. Another post would have been hogging space.
The photos are on a digital without the controls that a good SLR35mm has. I like the camera but it hasn't got much flash so I adjust the light level in the PC program, sometimes adjusting the contrast and losing sharpness. .
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." --Marcus Aurelius
Piffin:
Good practical points about the use of half-newels (i.e. pilasters) on stair rails. It would be nearly impossible to paint or otherwise finish the side next to the wall. And of course the structural benefit goes without saying.
In terms of aesthetics, I think a full newel would look funny butted up to a wall. A pilaster acts as a transition to visually (and structually) anchor the stair system to the wall system.
Regards,
Ragnar
If you slide on the rail, the half newel post stops you from hitting the wall.
It just is pleasing to the eye. A section of railing with several newels looks right if the end sections are terminated at the middle of a newel......this is suggesting to the eye that the railing is going on through the wall and is done so with symmetry.
Edited 11/21/2002 5:22:36 AM ET by Stan Foster
How about a half-post on a porch?
Same thing there, Dave. Just catches my eye.
Brinkmann for president in '04
Think of it like this, Jim. I know you must've seen a long legged woman wearing one of those long slinky dresses with a split up one side once upon a time. You don't get to see the whole leg. The tease can be more exciting than wholly bare and bold. I suppose that's a matter of opinion too - an eye of the beholder thing - but if we work on this a little, you'll never think of a half newel the same way again.
Now the first step in your therapy is to name the woman whose legs you most admire.
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Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." --Marcus Aurelius
hehehehe...well, I have to admit, you might be on to something there...and Gary's even talking about seeing half a leg outdoors...this has potential...
Brinkmann for president in '04
I bet Larry would know.
And we would all have to defer to his judgement, of course!
.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." --Marcus Aurelius
I always thought a half post looked better than rosettes.
Are there any alternatives that I don't know about ???
Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.
A rope net?.
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius