Before stair renovation

[Mellmountain]

Hello!

I am about to renovate our staircase at home (sanding and painting). However, the staircase seems to have sagged a bit or perhaps there was some carelessness during installation because there are gaps between the baluster and the ceiling. I would really like to reduce the gap between the ceiling and the stair baluster before painting. My plan is to unscrew each baluster and try to tap it up before screwing it back. I'm worried that there might not be enough gap, so the screws end up in the old holes. The gap between the ceiling and the baluster is about 4-5mm. Has anyone experienced anything similar or maybe has a better idea on how to solve this?

 

[peroande]

I would fill in the old holes to avoid slipping back into them. Fill with something quite hard. Wood plugs and glue, or chemical wood.

 

[Mellmountain]

Thank you! Sounds wise!

 

[Stuff]

How does the attachment of the handrail look otherwise? difficult to see in the picture. If possible, I would probably prefer to lower the handrail by inserting a piece of planed timber between the handrail and the roof, which is then painted with the handrail. 8mm is a quite common thickness for planed timber in hardware stores if it can be close to the gap you have today? In this way, you would then reinstall the slats in the same old holes.

 

[raveper]

Is the idea to paint it on site?

 

[Mellmountain]

What does the fastening of the top rail look like otherwise? It's hard to see in the picture. If possible, I would rather lower the top rail by inserting a piece of planed wood between the top rail and the roof, which is then painted with the top rail. 8mm is a quite standard thickness for planed wood in the building trade if it can match the gap you have today? This way you could then remount the slats in the same old holes

I actually don't know how it's fastened. I'll have to check when I get home. The gaps aren't as large as 8mm. More like 4-5mm. It would be really nice if one could reuse the existing holes. One idea could be to put a molding underneath to cover the gaps, but then you'd have to groove out holes for each slat. That's a lot of work.

Is the plan to paint it in place?

Yes, that's the plan. I painted a balcony railing last summer and took down all the slats. It was really tedious to wait for drying times before you could turn each board. If they stay in place, you can paint the whole thing even if it's more cumbersome.

 

[Mellmountain]

Now the staircase is finished!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to help me. I made new holes, there was enough space for it luckily.

You can see the final result here: https://www.byggahus.se/forum/threads/renovering-av-furutrapp-foere-efter.369640/

/M