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The assembly of the railing for the stairs is completed by installing the handrail. What can be the fastening of the handrail, how to do it correctly, reliably and imperceptibly, not everyone knows. Some common ways for wooden and metal stairs will be described here.
Fastening the handrail to the balusters of a wooden staircase
It turns out that wooden railings are the most difficult to make. This is because there are many different ways and techniques of working with wood and there are almost no ready-made solutions, since each staircase is individual, has its own characteristics. For example, fastening a handrail to balusters can be done using dowels, self-tapping screws, nails, bolts, special ties (zip bolt), glue. In addition, railings can be “attached” directly to balusters and poles, but there are options with an additional bar, which is sometimes called a “pillar”. And all of these are the “correct” ways to connect the racks to the handrail. Here’s how you can do it and we’ll talk in this section.
First of all, cut off a piece of the handrail of the desired length. It can be a fragment from one support column to another, a piece for the entire span – from the upper / lower column to the moment of rotation. It all depends on the design of the stairs. If there are joints between two fragments, they must be well processed, achieving a perfect match. Then the handrails for the street must be coated with protective impregnations, and then painted / varnished. After that, you can already deal with the issues of attaching the handrail to the stairs.
How to cut balusters for handrail installation
After installing the balusters on the steps, their tops are at different levels, and you can’t install a handrail on them without trimming – it doesn’t lie like that. To install the support rail on the stairs, it is necessary to cut the upper part of the uprights at a certain angle. This angle is determined by the steepness of the flight of stairs and does not need to be calculated. It is defined “on the spot”.
To find the angle of cutting the balusters, you can use a thread stretched between the support posts. We tie it at the same distance from the tops of the pillars, which are installed at the top and bottom of the span. Where, as planned, the lower boundary of the handrail will pass. Using this stretched thread with a pencil, we transfer the line to the tops of the racks. Instead of a thread, you can use a laser level, and you can also temporarily fix a guide (any flat bar).
We got the line, now we saw off the tops of the columns on the stairs strictly along it. Next, you can continue to mount the handrail on balusters or poles.
Let me give you one piece of advice: if for the subsequent installation of the railing you need to drill holes for dowels or studs, it is better to do this before trimming. It’s easier to find the center, it’s easier to keep the drill perpendicular. After the holes are made, you can take a saw / jigsaw and file it along the marked markings of the rack.
Connection of balusters and railings with dowels and threaded studs
Consider one of the traditional ways: fastening the handrail with dowels or studs. For this type of connection, matching holes must be made in the handrail and stair railing posts. If you install studs, they can be screwed into the holes made in the center of the balusters, set the handrail in the position in which it should stand. After checking if everything is right, walk along the handrail, tapping your fist over each baluster. The protruding ends of the metal studs will leave a mark on the back of the handrail. Remove the handrail, mark the resulting marks for reliability with a marker / pencil. Now you can drill holes. With this method of marking the handrail, there are almost no problems with its “landing” in place.
The second option for marking the handrail for the installation of studs and dowels is carried out before they are installed in the balusters. First of all, put the cut piece of the handrail in place. Then we mark with a pencil on both sides where the balusters are installed. Before marking, we check the distance between adjacent posts below and near the handrail. If they match, everything is fine, we put marks, if not, we correct the position of the rack and only then we make marks. Adjustment is needed to ensure that all ladder supports are vertical. This will make the railing more secure.
After all the balusters are marked, remove the handrail. On the reverse side are our marks. Between the pairs of lines that outline the baluster, we draw diagonals. Put a mark at the point where they intersect. Here it will be necessary to drill a hole for a dowel or a hairpin. Similarly, we find the centers on the balusters (if there are no holes in them yet). As you understand, with this method of marking the handrail for the railing, problems can arise – the slightest inaccuracy and the handrail does not fit into the rack. The good news is that the baluster can be moved within certain limits. Until it is fixed, there is a certain freedom, and it can be used when installing the railing. Just move it so that the spike enters the groove. In general, you know how to attach a handrail to dowels.
To make the installation of the railing more reliable, in addition to dowels or studs, you can coat the connection with glue. This will make the structure more rigid, extend the service life without backlash.
With an auxiliary bar – a railing
Agree that the easiest way to install a handrail on balusters is through screws or nails. What stops such a decision? Too unsightly result in the form of fastener caps that spoil the whole look. But there is a very similar way to ensure a good looking stair railing. An auxiliary bar is used, which is also called a slat.
The auxiliary bar is cut out with a spike, which mirrors the shape of the groove at the bottom of the handrail. With its even side, it is placed on sawn balusters, fixed through (self-tapping screws or nails – your choice). Don’t forget to check the distances between adjacent racks.
Then the upper part of the underlay is smeared with glue and the handrail is “planted”. All. No traces of fasteners on the front of the handrail, everything is holding. The only thing to consider is that the height of the handrail turns out to be somewhat larger, since more thickness is added and the auxiliary plank (if the plank is wooden, this is at least 2-3 cm).
There is another way to fasten the handrail to the underframe – with small nails or self-tapping screws from below, at an angle. But with such a mount, hats are visible. They can be disguised in one of the known ways, but it takes a long time …
As you know, over time, wooden railings “loose” due to the fact that they stagger under load, the wood fibers are crushed, and play appears. To reduce the possibility of backlash, when fastening through a lath, two or more self-tapping screws / nails can be used for each baluster. So the fastening of the handrail will be more rigid.
Also, for greater reliability, the bar can be made of metal. Any thin metal will do. Be it steel or aluminum. But then it will be necessary either to cut the bar to the dimensions of the recess in the handrail, or to modify the groove so that the handrail fits well on the structure. And one more thing: if the bar is metal, you need to find a universal glue that glues wood with metal well. This fastening of the handrail on the stairs is simple, beautiful, reliable. Suitable for those who decide to make a handrail for the stairs with their own hands for the first time.
On spikes of various shapes
It is possible to install a handrail made of wood without metal fasteners: on spikes and glue. Spikes are cut out at the top of the balusters. Under them, recesses of the same shape are formed in the handrail. The shape of the spike / groove – any. It can be a rhombus, a rectangle, a circle, an oval. The main thing is that the spike and groove match perfectly. This can be achieved by making a template and repeating it exactly on each fragment. The minimum spike height is 2,5 cm, so the height of the handrail cannot be less than 4,5 cm.
After a spike is formed on each baluster, and a groove is cut in the appropriate place on the handrail, they are glued. When installing the handrail on the balusters, they can be slightly shifted to align the holes. You can use the installed handrail after the glue has dried (time is on the package).
Connection of handrail and support post
Often the handrail does not go over the post, but is connected to its side face. How to join the handrail and the pole in this case? The easiest way is after cutting the handrail at the right angle, fasten it to self-tapping screws or nails driven in at an angle. The disadvantages are obvious – fastener caps are visible.
There is another way – to use a zip bolt, which consists of two movably connected studs and a gearbox. For its installation, a technological hole is required, which is made at the bottom of the handrail. It is then closed with a plug to match the wood and it becomes almost invisible. The second plus of such a connection: it can be tightened (to a certain extent), if suddenly a backlash appears.
Even under the zipbolt, you need to drill holes for the studs – one each in the post and in the handrail. The technological hole is usually made in the handrail. It is positioned so that it is possible to tighten the thread under the gearbox (the length of this thread is usually 10 mm). The depth of the holes is according to the size of the studs (from the junction to the edge), the diameter is 1-2 mm less than the diameter of the stud.
Studs are installed in the drilled holes. It is screwed into the pole, it is simply inserted into the handrail. A gearbox is installed in the prepared technological hole, in which there is a hole for a hex key (6 mm). We unfold the gearbox so that it is convenient to use the key. Turning the key, tighten the thread, pulling the handrail to the post. This must be done after the balusters are connected to the handrail. By attaching the handrail to the post, we can assume that the railing is installed.
Installation of a handrail on prefabricated metal fences
In general, the assembly of handrails from metal (stainless, nickel-plated, chrome-plated) pipes is similar to a designer. There are pipes of different diameters, decorative elements for them, and a whole range of different fasteners. From all these details, the railing is assembled. That is why they are called “combinations”. When deciding how to attach handrails to metal balusters / posts / posts, your task is to choose those elements that best suit your task or you like more than others.
To connect metal racks / balusters with a handrail, there are special tips that are attached to a round / square / rectangular pipe on one side, and to the handrail on the other. There are different types of models. You only need to find the most suitable, choose the right one: according to the size of the racks and the type of handrail.
In metal prefabricated fences, handrails can be different:
- round metal pipe;
- profile (rectangular, square) metal pipe;
- plastic handrail (round, oval or original shape);
- wooden of any profile.
Under each of these handrails there is a mount, and usually more than one. Choose what you like. They are easy to fix with clamp bolts. But, for reliability, and if the thickness of the metal allows, all joints of two metal parts can be welded. Welding thin metal is not easy, but if you know how to handle a welding machine, there is nothing impossible. Welding takes more time, but such a fastening of the handrail will be very reliable.
When connecting the elements of a metal staircase with plastic or wood, you must use the fasteners recommended by the manufacturers. Additionally, you can glue the joints with universal glue. True, in the case of stainless steel, this is of little use: the grip will be very low. But still…
Fastening a handrail to a welded or forged stair railing
A wooden handrail is usually placed on a forged or welded fence. In its lower part, a cut is made according to the size of the upper jumper of the finished fence. The depth of landing of the handrail is about 2 cm. It is possible more or less – it depends on the desire. The railing is connected to the handrail with self-tapping screws, which are screwed through the holes in the upper jumper. At the same time, it is important to choose the length of the fastener: it should be slightly (at least 5 mm) less than the height of the handrail so that the screw does not stick out on the surface.
In this case, the installation of the handrail on the stairs is simple:
- Holes are made in the upper jumper, which are slightly larger than the diameter of the selected screws, but smaller than the diameter of the cap. Step – from 50 cm to 1 meter.
- The handrails are cut where necessary, the joints are adjusted to perfect condition.
- Install the handrails in place, having achieved a perfect match of the joints, fix them in this position with clamps.
- Fasteners are installed through the holes in the jumper.
- Take off the clamps. The mounting of the handrail is finished, the railing is ready for use.
It is also important to choose the profile of the handrail
It is also possible to glue a wooden handrail to metal welded or forged railings. When choosing an adhesive, you need to look so that it can connect wood and metal. For outdoor stairs (to the porch, for example), you must also pay attention to the range of operating temperatures. Otherwise, there are no difficulties:
- spread glue according to the instructions;
- press the parts, fix with clamps;
- leave until the glue dries;
- remove clamps.
Both of these methods can be used to securely attach a handrail to a steel ladder. One does not interfere with the other.
Methods for attaching the handrail of the stairs to the wall
A handrail is attached to the wall if the width of the steps on the stairs exceeds 120 cm. The second handrail is made of the same material and the same shape as on the balusters, but it is attached to the wall.
For mounting the handrail on the wall, there are a number of mounts – brackets – for different profiles (round, oval, curly). On one side of the fastener there is a round or square fragment with a flat surface and holes made in it. This part is mounted on the wall. We select fasteners depending on the material from which the wall is made. We use self-tapping screws if the walls are wooden, dowels for walls made of concrete and brick, and special dowels for fastening to lightweight concrete.
We select the number and size of fasteners for installing a stair handrail on a wall based on reliability considerations. Manufacturers make at least four holes on each bracket. Here are four screws / dowels / nails for each and put. When choosing a length, it is better to proceed from the considerations “the longer the better.” Still, a solid load can fall on the wall rail, so it’s better to play it safe than fly down …
The second part for wall mounting of stair railings – where the handrail itself is attached – can be different. Under round pipes there can be a ring of a certain diameter, under rectangular or square handrails there is usually a flat area. There are also holes in this part of the stair handrail bracket so that the railing can be fixed. And in this case, the number of fasteners should be equal to the number of holes (for the same reasons).
There are brackets for wall mounting handrails with different angles. They are chosen based on their own ideas about the convenience and the planned height of the support. There are also telescopic models that allow you to set the distance to the wall and / or the angle of inclination. There are also end wall brackets, which, along with fixing the edges of the handrail, also decorate them decoratively.
The number of brackets depends on its handrail length. Usually, one element is placed at the edges, and between them is a calculated number, with a distance of 40-60 cm. The lower the bearing capacity of the wall, the more often we install wall holders for railings.