[blake.shedd]

I am buying a house with a landing at the top of the stairs. There is a short half wall all the way around (about 3 feet tall). I would like to add a banister along the top of this half wall to keep kids from trying to climb but I don't want it to be too tall. I'm thinking the banister should be around two feet tall (for a total of 5 feet). I have absolutely no idea where I could buy something like this or how much it would cost. I can do the work myself but need to find somewhere to buy the materials. If I have to buy longer ones, I could but I would prefer to keep it short. Also, the half wall ends on both sides where the stairs come up onto the landing. Is it OK to attach a newel post on top of a half wall? I would need to do this on each side. Thanks for your help.

 

[joecaption]

Going to have to post a picture on this one.
Also going to just have to figure out how to make your own ballisters.

 

[blake.shedd]

Unfortunately, I can't post a picture. Someone is currently living in the house and we have not purchased it yet. I don't mind making my own balusters. I am thinking dowel rods? Trying to keep costs down. Any other ideas are welcomed. What diameter dowel rods would work? Would the best way to attach them be to drill the same diameter hole in the foot rail? Same with the hand rail? I am trying to think of a better way to explain. I put a link below of a similar image I found on google. I am basically just trying to make the half wall on the landing taller. Would I be able to attach newel posts on top of a half wall like this?

http://media.beta.photobucket.com/user/xsspeeds/media/Condo1/Stairs.jpg.html?filters[term]=stair%20landing%20half%20wall&filters[primary]=images&filters[secondary]=videos&sort=1

 

[joecaption]

You would make two knee wall caps and counter bore the holes for the dowels with a forister bit or paddle bit.
It's nothing more then a piece of wood that's narrower then the top cap on what's there now with some rounded or routed edges.
The only tricky part will be how it gets attached to the ceiling. You can not just attach it to the sheetrock, it most likly will need some solid blocking up in the attic to attach it to.

 

[blake.shedd]

That makes sense. Thanks. I'm not planning on running it up to the ceiling. I plan to add a hand rail. My main concern is stability. If I'm just nailing all of this into the top cap, will it be sturdy enough? That's why I'm asking about the newel posts. If they also are just attached to the top cap instead of running further down into the knee wall, are they structural enough?

 

[kwikfishron]

I think some tempered glass panels would look good there.