Replacing my old banisters

CTU_Agent

Hi Folks,

Has anyone ever attempted this? Is it difficult.... We have bought all the timber and posts etc etc... were just waiting on someone to fit it....but im in that sort of diy humor last few weeks (women around the globe are rolling their eyes and saying men right now) and would like to attempt it....


Anyone any tips or anyone got any step by step guides???

fdevine

From past experience of carpentry DIY, dont risk it.

I might look easy, but when you have to start cutting angles that need to be spot on, it starts to get tricky and very, very frustrating.

So, unless you bought twice the number of parts you need, get a man who can in....you wont regret it...

BuilderBob

Don't be so pessimistic man, you'll never learn if you don't try.
Obviously it would depend on your level of experience but
you say you are replacing the old ones so you have your templates for the new.
No doubt there will be a few chippies around who can advise you on the technicalities but if you're feeling confident give it a lash !!!

CTU_Agent

appreciate the vote of confidence...but level of experience is well 'limited' would be an overstatement.....Its just one of this things that looks pretty easy if you can cut the angles properly.... and to be honest cutting my angles properly is probably my strongest point....


Im a bit lost then after that

kadman

If you dont know what you are doing, leave it to an expert.

Dont listen to these throw away comments from experts " give it a lash "

Remember there are regulations related to stair construction and handrail heights, minimum bannister spacing ect. And unless you know them, and I doubt that many do, leave it to a pro.

I know people are going to start posting and say, " but you dont need to worry about regs in an old house ".......But did they ever try to claim fromi their insurance after an accident on a stairs, that is outside of current regs...No.

There are diy jobs, and there are diy jobs....this is not one.

kadman

Gandhi

Incredibly difficult job. I have spent almost six months at this stage replacing two (rather small) bannisters in my house.

Angles are tough - especially in an older house where you can't take it for granted that the floor / steps are level or that the wall is plumb.

It was also my first time working with oak - I was used to pine, so I have had drill bits broken, heads snapping off screws and lag bolts etc.

A bannister needs to be strong as well, so you need to attach it really securely, which is difficult when fitting to a pre-existing stairs. The ideal situtation is to build it while building the stairs to that newel posts can be fastened from underneath the floorboards / steps.

I ended up having two friends who are pretty handy come and help me - by which I mean they finished the job while I stood back and handed them tools, ordered the pizza etc.

Almost forgot to mention the cost of the parts. Make a few bad cuts, and you could be out quite a bit of cash pretty quickly.

Apart from all that, though, it wasn't too bad!!!

mad m

If I remember right the spindles have to be 100mils apart no more,its becasue of toddlers incase they put their head in between spindles.

kadman

mad m wrote:

If I remember right the spindles have to be 100mils apart no more,its becasue of toddlers incase they put there head in between spindles.

Ding, ding , ding, Mad m.

100 mm maximum, no more. So you get 1/2 marks Madm, nice to see you are on the ball. :cool:

Now what about the rest of the regs then, there are more. I still say get in the pro's.

kadman

BuilderBob

Come on folks.
I was not, for one second, infering he should just give it a lash without the proper research but how can this be a forum where people can give advice on everything from the foundations to the roof and then tell a fella not to attempt any of it!!
Give him the benefit of your knowledge. If you know the regs then pass them on or at least point him in the right direction.
By all means tell him of the difficulties he will face but we all know the immense satisfaction he'll get if he manages to accomplish it himself.
Be cautious if you must but not dismissive.

kadman

BuilderBob wrote:

Come on folks.
I was not, for one second, infering he should just give it a lash without the proper research but how can this be a forum where people can give advice on everything from the foundations to the roof and then tell a fella not to attempt any of it!!
Give him the benefit of your knowledge. If you know the regs then pass them on or at least point him in the right direction.
By all means tell him of the difficulties he will face but we all know the immense satisfaction he'll get if he manages to accomplish it himself.
Be cautious if you must but not dismissive.

Hi Builderbob,

I'm not suggesting he should not have a go at diy. A poorly fitted shelf wont kill anyone.

A badly fitted handrail on the top landing of a stairs can give way and kill or injure somebody. :eek: How long would it take to explain all the proper methods of fitting SECURELY all the bannisters, and handrail. Connect the handrail securely to newels , ramps or volutes so that they will take all the punishment that are intended for them.

I,m not suggesting that he should not have a go if he wants to, thats his choice. But dont be under any illusion thats its a straight forward job. Its not. Any body can do it . But only a few can do it properly. Why do you think stair fitters get 300+ euro's a day.

kadman

Gandhi

To be honest, knowing the height and spacing to bring it up to code was the easiest part by a long shot.

It's one of those things in a house that people take for granted, so they assume it is simple to build. Looking at my one now, I can't believe how difficult it was, but I certainly felt it at the time.

I'm not the handiest man in the world either - I'd probably be slightly above average in handy terms - but Kadman is right that you'd want to seriously know your stuff to do a bannister.

ismynametoolong

CTu did you have a look in B&Q they have a DIY banister section with booklet and video on how to install dont know how good or bad they are but new banisters is on my to do list and so when i get all the other crap sorted i think i may give it a go too .( Why did i buy a 40 yr old house ) !!!

Patto

With the help of my old fella we replaced my old stud hand rail with an oak handrail, spindals and base rail. In retrospect it is (probably) one of three jobs (in a full renovation) I should just have got someone in to do. It is one of those jobs that looks easier that it is to an untrained eye. A good DIY person with plenty of patience can do this job. It will just take you about 4 to 5 times longer than a guy doing it every day. Its not a job for doing after a day in the office either. You need a clear head. Take a week off work. And it is a two man job in parts at least.

Paid €500 for the parts. Spent about 20 hours of my own time and about 50 hours of the old fella's time (there were 3 1/2 posts and 4 turns in the stairs). It would have cost €1200 to get 2 guys in to do the job in 1 or 2 days. As you can see it only pays in terms personal satisfaction.

I have to say the guys who do this job do earn their money. If you compare it to a guy fitting timber floors. Fitted our floors downstairs (50sq yards with the help of the bro this time) in a day and a half, we even got langers drunk on the Saturday night and finished the job on the Sunday morning without any noticable impact on the quality (of the floors rather than our health :rolleyes:). I had got a quote of 2 grand to get someone in.

mad m

Its a sight to see when a professional does a stairs,I used to look at carpenters on site,a fella called Tommy used to do 2-3 stairs in a day.He would cut all the angles first then attach handrail then slip in spindles and he used to use a hammer,now adays they have these portable nail guns :rolleyes: .

In other words get a pro.

rooferPete

Hi mad m,

One of the nicest stairs I have seen was made on-site for an attic conversion I was doing in London.

Like your carpenter there were no nails and where he used screws in the threads he drilled out small holes with what's best described as a core bit, when the screws were in he had dowels to cover the screws.

He said the screws were not needed because of the wedges and wood glue, each bannister fitted in like a glove and they were spaced with small sections of timber again glued into place.

He spaced the bannisters at 75 m laughing at the old rule of using your fist to space them out

There are very few left with his craft, perhaps he did the job right because he didn't know any other way

.