Straight handrails in angled stairs

[gromit42x]

Hello,

In our house built in '59, there was a simple handrail in the basement staircase consisting of two straight round dowels without angle bends. During the renovation, it was taken down. Now that I need to put it back up, I have no old reference points for the mounts and I didn't measure how it was before either (doh!)

I realize that straight handrails in a winding staircase present an exciting challenge since you can't just measure 90 cm from the stair nosing on the straight parts and simply screw it up. If you do, the handrails won't meet nicely in the "curve". How do the professionals do it? Besides using a properly curved handrail that's also shaped according to the stringer.

Should I measure 90 cm in the corner and then at the start and end of the staircase and accept that the distance to the steps along the way will vary slightly? Maybe measure from the stringer in that case? Or just accept that the meeting will be awkward at the cost of having the handrail at the right height for most of the staircase.

Help!
-h

 

[Plupp 405730]

Hi,

In our house built in '59, there was a simple handrail in the basement stairs consisting of two straight round rods without any angled bends. During renovation, it was taken down. Now when I'm about to put it back up, I have no old reference points for the brackets, and I didn't measure how it was positioned before either (doh!)

I realize that straight handrails in an angled staircase present an interesting challenge since you can't measure 90 cm from the stair nose in the straight parts of the stairs and then just screw it up. If you do that, the handrails won't meet nicely in the "curve." How do the pros do it? Other than use a properly curved handrail that is also bent according to the stringer's shape.

Should I measure 90 cm in the corner and then at the beginning and end of the stairs and accept that the distance to the steps along the way will vary a bit? Maybe measure from the stringer in that case? Or just accept that the meeting will be odd at the cost of having the handrail at the right height in most of the stairs.

Help!
-h

Hi.

I usually measure 900 on the first step, then the same on the step in the inner corner where the stairs turn, and the last step. But the best is if you hold them up with the help of three friends so you can feel if it looks good. Yours should meet in height at the inner corner; otherwise, it looks strange.

Best regards,
J

 

[gromit42x]

Okay. You mean from where the scissors are in the picture? Not by the pen?

 

[Plupp 405730]

Ok. You mean from where the scissors are in the picture? Not by the pen?

Yes, the starting point is there, but the important thing is the overall picture. Sometimes you have to adjust the measurements a bit for the whole to look good.