Staircase / newel post problem

[R181]

IMG_5798

• R181
• 4 Feb 2017

Hi

I'm currently refurbishing a house and I have a staircase which will have a handrail & spindles. The problem is that the existing newel posts are twisted, mainly the one at the top of the staircase (see pics) is there anyway to replace these for new square posts without compromising the strength of the staircase or having it turn into a costly job, I thought about making a hollow post from thick mdf sheets but it will look crap no matter how well it's put together.

Any advice appreciated'

 

[foxhole]

You could chop off close to floor and replace with spigot newel.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Difficult situation to put it right without ripping off half the stairs, other methods may compromise strength, personally I would plane it off square losing some thickness obviously that may not be so noticeable, but planing will need good skills, or else you would end up back to square one, once squared you may be able to rebuild the shaved off depth by gluing thin flat pieces of timber around making good corners and filling any gaps and repainted,

 

[big-all]

if its twisted along its length like a propeller then as above
if its square but sitting wrong then i would investigate and see if turning to the correct position is possible

 

[Doggit]

You want to cut it off at floorboard level, and get an 8" piece of doweling say 30mm thick. As you can't drill a perfectly centred hole that's straight down, you'll need to drill a 32mm hole, and then glue 4" of the dowel into the base with gorilla glue. Wait till it's gone off, and then liberally pour the glue into hole of the new post, and quickly turn it upside down on to the dowel, and get someone to hold it upright whilst you drill a couple of screws in to keep it in place. You could set a half frame around the remaining newel post to help position it.

The other method requires a bit more carpentry skill, in that you cut the existing post 4" from the base, then cut half of it away vertically, then cut the new post so that the two pieces match together, then you glue and screw the two posts together. I did that about 14 years ago, and it's still in place.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

The above idea is what i would also take up as easier than planning the twisted post to become square since planning would require a good deal of skills in planning certain areas more so than others. yes using a thick dowel of 30 or even 40mm diameter 4" deep into the old post and similar depth hole into new post and and gluing it all up as well as using screws is an excellent idea and will be pretty much strong.

 

[rick68]

Just an idea,, could you try and take off the 4x1 (?) cladding and replace it with new at 90deg with the spindles,

 

[screamer]

Just an idea,, could you try and take off the 4x1 (?) cladding and replace it with new at 90deg with the spindles,

trying to see where the 4x1" is, are you seeing the top of the newel post?
as thats just a chamfer to the top of the newel.


i'd lift the flooring to see if there's a way it can be fixed more square before cutting it

 

[rick68]

trying to see where the 4x1" is, are you seeing the top of the newel post?
as thats just a chamfer to the top of the newel

Ah yeah ,, see it now, I was on my phone when viewing it, looked like it had been lined with 4x1 #
cheers

 

[Doggit]

i'd lift the flooring to see if there's a way it can be fixed more square before cutting it

It'll be tied into the stringer, so won't easily be adjustable, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to do that.