Baluster spacing question...

Ler0y Jenkins · 04-04-2012, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sublime2

Southern Jersey here,went through same thing but mine was more concerned with smoke detectors than any thing else.just another way to get some hard earned money from a home owner.

Where are you in Southern Jersey? I'm in Washington Township (Sewell).

I actually agree with the smoke detector requirement for obvious reasons... requiring a full C.O. on an existing home prior to the sale is just a PIA, in my opinion.

sublime2 · 04-04-2012, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ler0y Jenkins

Where are you in Southern Jersey? I'm in Washington Township (Sewell).

I actually agree with the smoke detector requirement for obvious reasons... requiring a full C.O. on an existing home prior to the sale is just a PIA, in my opinion.

I'm in Bellmawr,Neighbor!

Ler0y Jenkins · 04-10-2012, 07:35 AM

I got the bottom section of railing done this passed weekend. It was more complicated than the top section due to the angles, but ended up being easier than I thought it would be... here are some pictures:

Ler0y Jenkins · 04-10-2012, 07:36 AM

More pictures:

Ler0y Jenkins · 04-10-2012, 07:50 AM

By the way, I think I've solved a problem that I encountered doing the top section... the bottom of the balusters are square, which makes them difficult to attach. I was hoping I could cut a small enough hole that would accept the square end of the baluster, but be tight enough to keep the baluster from moving around. When I tried that, the hole was just the right size, but not tight enough to keep the baluster from moving around slightly. Since I couldn't cut a square hole, I decided to insert a dowel rod into the end of the baluster and leave about 1/2" sticking out the bottom, that I could insert into a corresponding hole on the base plate. That worked well, but the problem was there was nothing to keep the balusters from spinning around, which doesn't look so good since they are square and need to remain all lined-up.

The solution I came up with was to insert a 1/4" threaded coupler into the end of the baluster. The coupler is just a little too big to fit, so I use a hammer to force it in the end of the baluster until the ends are flush. I will then countersink a 1/4" bolt up from the bottom of the base plate and screw the balsuter on to the bolt. After that, I'll attach the base plate to the floor and finish everything up. Here are some pictures:

Ler0y Jenkins · 04-10-2012, 07:55 AM

My newest problem has to do with the angle of my stairs and the hardware I bought for the wrought iron balusters. As you can see from the picture below, I bought some finishing caps go on each end of balusters. The problem is they appear to be cut at a 45 degree angle, and my stairs are 42.5 degrees. Thus, they don't line up. It's not all that noticable, but I think if I don't figure out some way to fix the issue, it will end up driving me crazy. Thus, I'd like to get this problem addressed before I button everything up and begin staining.

Any suggestions?

Jackofall1 · 04-10-2012, 08:07 AM

You could mortice the top cap into the railing thus covering up the differential on the angles.

Mark

Ler0y Jenkins · 04-10-2012, 09:27 AM

Mark,

That's a good idea, although I don't think there's enough space on the sides... the decorative cap is about the same thickness as the bottom of the railing. I was thinking about trying to hit the cap with my table-top beltsander at the right angle, but I'm not sure how effective the beltsander will be.

Kevin

md2lgyk · 04-10-2012, 01:28 PM

As long as a 4-inch diameter ball won't pass between the balusters anywhere, your railing is fine. Looks nice too.

Ler0y Jenkins · 04-10-2012, 03:32 PM

Thanks for the responses guys... for anyone else with this issue, I found a reference online to the end caps, which says they can be sanded using a beltsander to make them what ever angle necessary. Looks like my instinct was correct.

Kevin

Yankee1423 · 04-13-2012, 01:54 PM

I had the exact same scenario as you have on the angle. When I put mine together, I figured the angle I needed and drew it on every end cap. Then I secured a belt sander with a bench vice and just sanded it down to my line and it worked perfectly. Just be careful grabbing them when you are done b/c the edges can get pretty sharp. I found out the hard way.

Ler0y Jenkins · 04-13-2012, 03:12 PM

Yankee,

I did the same thing except I used my tabletop beltsander. It worked well, but they heated up quickly on the sander. The angle is now correct, but they still don't line up perfectly because when the set screw is tighened, it causes the cap to become misaligned. I was thinking about trying to drill a pilot hole for the set screw, but I may just leave them as they are. The gap is only about 1/16th of an inch on higher side.

Kevin

Ler0y Jenkins · 01-14-2013, 02:01 PM

I was searching for another thread and came upon this one... I figured I'd upload some pictures of the finished product. As you can see, I'm also adding a chair rail and shadow boxing that is still in progress. I'm also replacing the crappy 1 1/4" baseboard molding with 2 1/2" molding and new quarter-round. For some reason, the prior owner used brown quarter-round instead of white. It also the fiberboard kind that wasn't holding up well. Looks so much better in white, IMO.

Kevin