Extreme How-To – September 2019

It’s okay for the balusters to be

spaced closer than 4 inches but

not further apart.

When determining baluster

placement, don’t forget to consid-

er the shape of your newel posts.

For example, the trim around the

bottoms of our newel posts made

them 1 - 1 / 2 - in. wider than the tops

of the posts—so we took measure-

ments between the tops. If you for-

get this discrepancy, then a balus-

ter spaced 4 inches away from the

bottom of the newel might be

spaced 4 - 3 / 4 - in. away from the

top of a newel, which would be a

code violation.

On the post-to-post staircase

shown, the total run of the

balustrade is the horizontal dis-

tance between the two opposing

newel faces. We used the calcula-

tions above to determine the prop-

er center-to-center baluster spac-

ing for the total run, then marked

these locations on the stair treads.

We then turned our attention to

the handrail, with plans to return

to the balusters later.

RAIL INSTALLATION

To determine the miter angles of

the handrail, we placed a scrap

1 x 2 board atop the stair treads

and clamped it alongside the

newel posts, marking the inter-

secting angle with a pencil. The

board was cut along the miters to

serve as a template for the rail.

We placed the 1 x 2 flush between

the newels at the rail-connection

points to double-check the fit of

38 ExtremeHowTo.com

Determine the center-to-center

baluster spacing and mark their

positions on the stair treads.

Illustration © L.J. Smith Stairs Inc.

DIY

STAIR RAIL

INSTALLATION

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