Help - wobbly/broken newel post

[roxburd]

Hi,

I'm usually pretty clued-up on DIY but this one's got me foxed.

The newel post at the top of my stairs is wobbly/broken... and its design is also a bit weird. It seems to be attached to another post which protrudes about 15 inches down into the under-stairs area.

Untitled

• roxburd
• 29 Aug 2011
• 1

The newel post (on the left) and it's buddy. The newel is wobbly/broken where the square cross-section base meets the turned part.

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• roxburd
• 29 Aug 2011
• 1

A close-up. You can just see the crack in the newel (on the left) where the turned part starts to flare out to meet the box section.

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• roxburd
• 29 Aug 2011
• 1

And just for completeness, this is where the buddy post protrudes down into the space under the stairs.

The newel seems to be bolted to the buddy.

The top of the newel wobbles about 5mm but It guess it's only going to get worse. It actually feels more loose than broken but I just can't see where to get at anything to tighten up.

Is this type of newel hollow? If I get the cap off will I find a coach-bolt type thing down in there to tighten up?? How do I get the cap off?

Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Is it just broken and the whole post needs replacing? Hope not!!! I could try a repair by putting a bolt down at an angle but I don't want to try that and find that there's already a bolt in there somewhere that a) stops me doing my repair and b) only needed tighting up in the first place.

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[IJWS15]

The newel base (Square part at the bottom) will have a socket in it (around 50mm dia).

The turned newel will have a spigot which fits this socket and would have been glued/wedged in.

Only way to refix it properly is to strip down and rebuild - is this a relativly new house and is it still under NHBC guarantee?

 

[roxburd]

IJWS15, guess what - it's about 6 months outside guarantee.

So does this mean I should be able to pull teh turned part out and re-fix??

Thanks,
Dave

 

[IJWS15]

Yes, but . .

The horizontal hand rail will need removing as will all he vertical spindles so not a simple job if it was assembled correctly and you may damage some parts.

The newel spigot may just be glued in or may have a tapered pin in the bottom of the spigot (which gets pushed into a hole in the bottom of the spigot as it is knocked into the newel base expanding the spigot and giving a tight fit).

See abbout 3:40 into this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcWI2HPGVbw&NR=1

Check if you can get replacemnt parts before you start.

 

[Berniebee]

Hi ,

This is an older thread, but I would like to clear up some of the advice given here.
I am located in Ottawa, Canada, but newel post (and stairwell) design seems to be very similar to those found in the UK.

First of all, newel posts of this diameter are usually one piece. (If the lower square section is glued to the upper section, it's now one piece, certainly as far as this repair is concerned.)

Roxburd, your house builder used two newel posts. The upper newel post, as you noted, has an narrow extension projecting downwards. (The part you call the “buddy ”.) This “buddy” is normally bolted/screwed to a floor joist underneath the subfloor. This a very strong way of mounting a newel post, and typically a second newel post would not be required. But in this case the builder decided that a second newel was needed to reinforce the original post.

To fix this issue: First find why the wobble is present. Are the two newel posts joined securely? Have an assistant observe if a crack opens up between the newel posts while you apply sideways pressure to the upper post. The assistant should also have a look at the “buddy”, to see if it moves.
If movement is noted in either area, the solution is to securely attach the offending part.

If you are sure that the newel is bending, (Verify with an assistant holding a straight edge against the newel and observing while you push, pull on the newel.) then the upper newel needs to be completely replaced. This is a a fairly involved, messy job.
You will have to separate the upper newel from the lower newel. ( The two newel posts are undoubtedly screwed together.) Scrape/sand the newel posts on the surfaces facing away from the opposite post. What you are trying to do is find a wood plug or wood filler area that covers a screw.
Drill through or (perhaps ) pry out the wood plug to expose the screw head. Remove the fasteners and you should be able to separate the two newel posts.

The hand rail is typically attached to the newel post by a screw running horizontally through the newel post into the rail. Sand /scrape the paint from the newel post on the flat opposite the rail and you should see a wood plug or filler. Again remove the plug and screw.

The “buddy” will also need to be detached, so follow the same procedure to discover and remove any screws. Remember to cut the paint with a knife at all adjoining surfaces to the post before removing the post, to minimize paint damage when you pull the post free.

At this point the upper newel post should come free.

Find a similar newel post* and reinstall it the same way. You can find wood plugs and screws at stair parts suppliers online. Check out the L.J.Smith Stair Systems site. As they are a U.S. company, you may not be able to find their parts in the UK, but the “Installation Hardware” section has instructions for most of the parts. The instructions will also help you see how stair rail systems are put together .
And of course, you can also slice a wooden dowel to make a plug.

Hope this helps!

*Sorry I can't help you with finding a newel post in Suffolk, but if you are ever in Ottawa...

 

[IJWS15]

Practices and terminology are different on this side of the Atlantic.

There is a song about it.