How to Build a Staircase Handrail
One of your earliest memories may have been going to your grandmother's home and sliding down the handrail of the staircase for hours at a time. You've grown up and it's time to have one of your own in your new home. The primary reason is for safety but a small part of you can't wait to provide other children with the same enjoyment you had. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Check your local building codes for height requirements. Building codes vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. As soon as you know the height that is required, the remainder of the job won't take you long at all.
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Mark the starting point of your handrail at the top of the staircase. Since handrails can be as thick as 4 to 5 inches, measure your rail and then lower the mark by 4 to 5 inches. As an example, if it's four inches thick, lower your mark by four inches.
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Head for the bottom of the stairs until you are one step from the bottom, and make a pencil mark on the wall at the same height you marked at the top of the stairs. Affix a string at the place you marked and secure it with something like a thumb tack. Run the string up the stairs, pull it tight, and then secure it with another thumb tack at the mark you made earlier. You now have a guide for where the bottom of your handrail is to be placed.
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Mark where the brackets are to be placed, but first use a stud finder to locate where they should be located. Install the brackets in any other place on the wall, and you are courting disaster, because they will loosen easily and become a hazard. Assuming that you find the studs to be 16 inches apart, place a pencil mark on every other one so your brackets will be about 38 inches apart.
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Drill holes for your brackets before installing them to make this part of the job easier. Install the top and bottom brackets first, and then do the remaining ones.
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Place your handrail onto the bracket, and then attach the U-brackets by using an electric screwdriver. Make certain that your handrail does not go more than two feet past the top and bottom brackets. If it does, you have the options of either sawing it or adding another bracket at the bottom or the top of the stairs.
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Tips & Warnings
Some staircases make a 90-degree turn. You may have to create the proper angle at the landing by using a miter box and saw.
