36
votes
Accepted
How do I repair my stair bannister?
Those wooden circles are plugs that will pry out of the holes in the balusters. Under that would be a pre-drilled hole for a screw (typically). I would have never used nails on this in the first ...
- 27.7k
26
votes
Accepted
What is this fence-like feature on colonial roofs?
It's called a "Widow's Walk". The name stems from the fact that it was a prominent feature in homes near the sea, where wives of seafarers would (presumably) go to stare out at the ocean, hoping to ...
- 14.8k
24
votes
Accepted
How to polish welding at 90 degree curves?
That welding would be termed by one of my instructors as “bird droppings”...
It needs to be done properly where the weld joins and fills the 90 gap evenly and is called a fillet weld.
Get them to ...
- 26.2k
20
votes
Accepted
Interpreting stair railing code
No. It's all or nothing. Imagine a visually-impaired person (or someone in the dark) coming down your stairs and the rail ends. What's the assumption? That they've reached the bottom. That can end ...
- 129k
17
votes
Balancing needed bending strength of a wood railing post in concrete with the lifespan due to rot
Here is a different concept, based on the vinyl fencing options where gates are going to be in the fence: at the gate posts they have metal inserts that are the same full length of the plastic post, ...
- 6,374
12
votes
Accepted
How to install deck railing top board slanted
You'd just slope the 4x4 posts, set the top rails on them, and fit your 2x4 rails underneath. A slight wedge gap would be present, but that's not going to look terrible.
I'd reconsider for a few ...
- 129k
12
votes
Balancing needed bending strength of a wood railing post in concrete with the lifespan due to rot
You could try using a different type of bracket, like the ones shown below.
The bracket is attached to anchor bolts, either set in the concrete, or with expansion sleeves in drilled holes. The wooden ...
- 878
10
votes
How to polish welding at 90 degree curves?
A rule of thumb is that a good weld looks good . Your base metals look like stainless ; If it is strongly magnetic it is ferritic or martensitic. If one of those the welder must use the right fillers ...
- 8,271
8
votes
US residential stair railing code: What is the requirement for terminating an open railing?
That handrail does not meet code, because it is not continuous from top to bottom of stairway and the ends do not terminate correctly at the bottom.
The Code (ICC R311.7.7) requires handrails:
Height ...
- 23.1k
7
votes
How can I eliminate wobble in my surface-mounted deck railing posts?
Suggest replacing the existing post base connectors with this one, which is made from steel, and considerably much stiffer than what you have now.
- 3,362
6
votes
What is this fence-like feature on colonial roofs?
A parapet.
par·a·pet
/ˈperəpət/
noun
a low protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, or balcony.
"she stood on the bridge, leaning over the parapet to watch the water race by"
This is a ...
- 187
6
votes
Accepted
Balancing needed bending strength of a wood railing post in concrete with the lifespan due to rot
After further thought I do want to either bury the post in the concrete or at least have it laid flat on the surface.
In this case how can we retard the rot? Some recommendations I have seen include:
...
6
votes
Accepted
making concave indentation into end of piece of wood
When I need to use a hole saw to make a partial hole, here is what I do.
Clamp a few pieces of scrap lumber to sandwich the work like this (side/cutaway view):
Then drill your hole straight down ...
- 6,604
6
votes
Accepted
How can I extend footbridge support posts to add a railing?
The question is rather open-ended. Here are my ideas in order of personal preference:
Replace the posts with taller ones. There are only four, and this would yield the cleanest appearance and extend ...
- 129k
5
votes
How can I eliminate wobble in my surface-mounted deck railing posts?
Diagonals connecting the posts can mitigate racking risk.
- 1,018
5
votes
Balancing needed bending strength of a wood railing post in concrete with the lifespan due to rot
Use a concrete spur post
Wood will definitely rot at ground level - there's no question about that. So take steps to not only keep the structure intact when it does rot, but also make subsequent ...
- 1,959
5
votes
making concave indentation into end of piece of wood
That's a tough one. Have you considered how bendy the middle of an 8-foot long aluminum tube may be? The whole deal may wobble.
Consider instead a simple brace running from the hand rail at the last ...
- 10.9k
5
votes
Accepted
Safety railing for second floor sliding glass door opening to nonexistent deck
I managed to get through to the County permitting office and what I mentioned covers much of it :
36 inches height (check)
4 inches max inter-post distance (check)
constructed in a manner to ...
4
votes
extend height of wooden railing
Although it is a nuisance to remove all those banisters, it might be feasible to add a similar number of them.
Install new banisters between the old ones, but extending upward 25% to 50% longer. ...
- 14.2k
4
votes
How do I repair my stair bannister?
A few tips on this, in addition to JPhi's answer
The plugs shouldn't be glued in. They're tapered so they can be tapped into the hole and pried back out. I keep a narrow head flat screwdriver (like ...
- 24.2k
4
votes
Custom rail for a spiral staircase
Just a warning, unless you are pretty handy this should be done by a pro. If you have done large glue ups before, and have 2 people to help at glue up time and everything protected from dripping glue, ...
- 34.2k
4
votes
Attach 2x4 to a warping 2x4 wood rail?
You could screw up through the lower 2x4 into the top 2x4, such that the screw heads would be on the bottom of the lower board and not seen from the top.
But I think there's a different question here:...
- 1,031
4
votes
US residential stair railing code: What is the requirement for terminating an open railing?
I believe if tubing is used the end of the hand rail must be closed. We use square tubing quite a bit and close the ends at top and bottom I believe this is what the code is referring to.
- 102k
4
votes
Accepted
Affixing a sail shade to balcony railing with a pole
Generally speaking, when the wind gets behind a sail, it exerts considerable force. People have crossed hundreds of miles of ocean with no more than 3m x 3m x 3m.
If you manage to affix the corner of ...
- 14.2k
4
votes
Vertical position of cable railing tightening anchors for stairs
It doesn't matter. I'd put the larger one where it's less conspicuous.
- 129k
4
votes
How to secure a rail butting up to the wall
Any type of anchor/bracket at one end is not enough, unless there is more support along the length/other end. Six feet makes a good lever.
With good wood behind, a couple of good size screws driven ...
- 22.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Corner Reinforcement for Railing
You can sandwich a scrap of 1/2" plywood between two 2x4s, glue and screw them together and that will get you the required 3½".
Seeing how you've got that wire to contend with it might be a ...
- 2,311
3
votes
Accepted
How to Repair Wobbly Banister Post
Assuming that the framing around the post socket is solid, this is what I'd do for a rock-solid result:
Procure some items:
Heavy-duty construction adhesive--the kind that comes in a caulking gun ...
- 129k
3
votes
Accepted
Wood rail on concrete steps
For 4x4 posts mounted on their butt end to a concrete surface it seems like a robust solution. One concern is that if you ever have any rotting and some of the wood ever needs replacing it will be ...
- 64.1k
3
votes
extend height of wooden railing
Have you thought if it do you like the idea of adding a industrial looking pipe hand rail? (I think black would look great).You could do a 6” or so version of the kind of mounting seen in this bunk ...
- 4,245
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible