Need suggestions on solid wood hand rail

[SwingKing]

LOML has decided she doesn't like the look of our front entry staircase and wants to spruce it up. Basically, the stair case has a normal hand rail on the right side, and a half wall for the length of the left side. The half wall is in two sections, the lower one 5' and the upper one 10'.

The half wall originally had just a cap board with trim pieces on either side to act as a hand rest / hand rail. She would like me to replace this cap with a hardwood cap that overlaps about 1.5" on either side (7" total). This will act as a hand rail when going down the stairs, so I'm thinking it will need to be 1.5"-2" thick to provide a comfortable grip. Her other requirement is that it needs to be a visual feature when entering the house. She want's it to have that "wow" factor, which to her means a really nice grain pattern.

I'd appreciate any suggestions and/or helpful hints. Wood selection, construction approaches, finishing suggestions will all be helpful. I do have some 4/4 white oak but am willing to buy something else if it will work better. One obvious choice is to get some 8/4 boards, but I was a bit concerned about wood movement (cupping, etc) after installation.

You folks always have some great ideas, so what would do if it was your house?

-- Ken

[just started]

I guess the first questions are inside/outside covered area/outside in the weather? Is there any other "natural" wood in the same visual field?

You should also check your local codes for any requirements they WILL have concerning handrails.

[SwingKing]

The staircase is indoor, about 5 feet inside the front door. The only wood close to that area is the laminate floor, which is a medium dark rustic oak pattern.

That's an interesting point about building codes. I had assumed that since I was just replacing the painted MDF top board of the half wall with a finished wood board, there wouldn't be an issue. I guess I shouldn't assume this; building codes don't always follow common sense.

I have been thinking about how to mount the board as well. The original MDF looks like it was just nailed in place, the holes filled and then painted. Since mine will have an overlap and be finished wood, so nails may be a problem. I'm thinking of using some type of screw/bolt fasteners and then cutting plugs to cover the holes. I can't attach it from the bottom without tearing holes in the drywall, which wouldn't be my first choice.

-- Ken

[cabinetman]

LOML has decided she doesn't like the look of our front entry staircase and wants to spruce it up. Basically, the stair case has a normal hand rail on the right side, and a half wall for the length of the left side. The half wall is in two sections, the lower one 5' and the upper one 10'.

The half wall originally had just a cap board with trim pieces on either side to act as a hand rest / hand rail. She would like me to replace this cap with a hardwood cap that overlaps about 1.5" on either side (7" total). This will act as a hand rail when going down the stairs, so I'm thinking it will need to be 1.5"-2" thick to provide a comfortable grip. Her other requirement is that it needs to be a visual feature when entering the house. She want's it to have that "wow" factor, which to her means a really nice grain pattern.

I'd appreciate any suggestions and/or helpful hints. Wood selection, construction approaches, finishing suggestions will all be helpful. I do have some 4/4 white oak but am willing to buy something else if it will work better. One obvious choice is to get some 8/4 boards, but I was a bit concerned about wood movement (cupping, etc) after installation.

You folks always have some great ideas, so what would do if it was your house?

-- Ken

In your description, (paragraph in dark italics), I'm not getting a good mental picture of what is existing. Pictures or a drawing would help. Or, maybe a more detailed description. What I get is instead of balusters, you have a wall (how thick?), topped with a board (horizontal) with side trim pieces (vertical?), of a certain height. Knowing what exists, and what you want to wind up with would be easier to figure out if there was no guessing of what you have to work with.

As for installation, and how to fasten, there are some creative methods, and instead of describing all that I can think of, I'd like to direct which ones would be best for the application.
.

[pelligrini]

Sounds like a 2x4 framed half wall, with a flat bord on top and some trim on either side covering the gap between the sheetrock and top board. A photo would help though. I don't have any suggestions on the design right now.

The following is an excerpt from the 2003 IRC (International Building Code) about handrails. Most jurisdictions have adopted it, or have something closely based on it. A handrail is just the part you hold on to for stairs and ramps, the actual rail part. The wall is really called a guard.

R311.5.6 Handrails. Handrails shall be provided on at least
one side of each continuous run of treads or flight with four
or more risers.
R311.5.6.1 Height. Handrail height, measured vertically
from the sloped plane adjoining the tread nosing, or finish
surface of ramp slope, shall be not less than 34 inches (864
mm) and not more than 38 inches (965 mm).
R311.5.6.2 Continuity. Handrails for stairways shall be
continuous for the full length of the flight, from a point di-
rectly above the top riser of the flight to a point directly
above lowest riser of the flight. Handrail ends shall be re-
turned or shall terminate in newel posts or safety termi-
nals. Handrails adjacent to a wall shall have a space of not
less than 1 1/2 inch (38mm)between the wall and the hand-
rails.
Exceptions:
1. Handrails shall be permitted to be interrupted by
a newel post at the turn.
2. The use of a volute, turnout, starting easing or
starting newel shall be allowed over the lowest
tread.

R311.5.6.3 Handrail grip size. All required handrails
shall be of one of the following types or provide equiva-
lent graspability.
1. Type I. Handrails with a circular cross section shall
have an outside diameter of at least 1 1/4 inches (32
mm) and not greater than 2 inches (51 mm). If the
handrail is not circular it shall have a perimeter di-
mension of at least 4 inches (102 mm) and not
greater than 6 1/4 inches (160 mm) with a maxi-
mum cross section of dimension of 2 1/4 inches
(57 mm).
2. Type II. Handrails with a perimeter greater than
6 1/4 inches (160mm)shall provide a graspable fin-
ger recess area on both sides of the profile. The fin-
ger recess shall begin within a distance of 3/4 inch
(19 mm) measured vertically from the tallest por-
tion of the profile and achieve a depth of at least
5/16 inch (8mm) within 7/8 inch (22mm) belowthe
widest portion of the profile. This required depth
shall continue for at least 3/8 inch (10mm) to a lev-
el that is not less than 1 3/4 inches (45 mm) below
the tallest portion of the profile. The minimum
width of the handrail above the recess shall be 1 1/4
inches (32 mm) to a maximum of 2 3/4 inches (70
mm). Edges shall have a minimum radius of 0.01
inches (0.25 mm).

SECTION R312
GUARDS
R312.1 Guards required. Porches, balconies or raised floor
surfaces located more than 30 inches (762 mm) above the floor
or grade below shall have guards not less than 36 inches (914
mm)in height.Open sides of stairswith a total rise of more than
30 inches (762 mm) above the floor or grade below shall have
guards not less than 34 inches (864 mm) in height measured
vertically from the nosing of the treads.
Porches and decks which are enclosed with insect screening
shall be provided with guards where the walking surface is lo-
cated more than 30 inches (762 mm) above the floor or grade
below.
R312.2Guard opening limitations. Required guards on open
sides of stairways, raised floor areas, balconies and porches
shall have intermediate rails or ornamental closures which do
not allow passage of a sphere 4 inches (102mm) or more in di-
ameter.
Exceptions:
1. The triangular openings formed by the riser, tread and
bottom rail of a guard at the open side of a stairway are
permitted to be of such a size that a sphere 6 inches
(152 mm) cannot pass through.
2. Openings for required guards on the sides of stair
treads shall not allowa sphere 4 3/8 inches (107mm)to
pass through.

[SwingKing]

Here's a picture of the staircase. I apologize about the quality; I've been having problems with my camera so I had to take this with my cell phone. The bottom sections is 5' long and the top section is 10'. The wall is 4.5" wide, so I'm thinking an overlap rail would need to be about 7".



-- Ken

[pelligrini]

OK, that makes it a lot more clear. You don't really need to worry about conforming to the handrail portion of the code. The IRC maintains that you have a handrail on at least one side, which you already do. It would be just a guard.

In a remodel we did a several years ago we put a nice wood cap on a simaliarly constructed half wall. We painted the edges of the existing 1x6 white painted pineywood top a darker trim color. On top of that we laid down a narrower board that was painted black on the edges. There was about a 1/2" reveal of the board below. The wood cap was put on top of it, and it was the same width as the old 1x6 top. I think the contractor used white oak, maybe maple, with a clear finish. It wasn't just a 3/4" thick wood board on top either. His trim guy also chamfered the top edges of the new wood. Their trimmer used finish nails, but he did a pretty good job filling the holes.

Knowing what I know now, I would have suggested some Green & Green style, square, raised, Ebony plugs as details on the top. Maybe doing them at certain intervals. I like that sort of detail.

[cabinetman]

Here's a suggestion you might consider. Go ahead and do the wall cap like described, and on top of the cap mount a profiled handrail, something like this, more like the one on the left, or one to match up with the one on the other wall, there's plenty on that site to pick from. They are one of my stair parts suppliers.

A flat cap handrail does little to provide a safety feature, and could be a false sense of support. That's just my opinion. My thinking says a flat cap makes that wall look just like a half wall, instead an integral part of the staircase.
.

[pelligrini]

From the photograph, I would bet that the half wall is at least 42" above the nosings. That's based on the handrail being at 36". Once the wall is capped the addition of a handrail on top may be a little high for actual use. It might create a nice appearance though.

If safety were an issue a handrail could be attached to the half wall at an approperiate height.

[SwingKing]

I checked it and Pelligrini is absolutely right. The half wall is 42" high, so there would be plenty of room if I want to add a another hand rail. Depending on what I do for a cap, I may do just that.

I like the Green & Green idea. I'll have to see what I can come up with for a design.

LOML has this idea of a thick plank of wood for the cap and I don't know if I can get her to change her mind. If I need to go this way, would you suggest using a solid 8/4 plank, building something to wrap over the wall with miter joints, or possibly a veneer over plywood/MDF?

-- Ken

[pelligrini]

Probably depends on your budget.

Personally, I'd hate to use such a nice thick piece of wood to cap a half wall. If I wanted a thick look I would probably use 3/4 material and run a lock miter joint down the edges with the router to attach some more material for some thickness. It would end up being pretty square though, but I like sharp, crisp corners.

I think the material you end up using will depend on the design.

[Red88chevy]

Not sure how much it would cost to use solid wood, but I see the main advantage of using 8/4 as being able to rout, sand, whatever to the shape you want without worrying about cutting into the plywood/MDF below. I understand why Pelligrini would hate to "waste" all that good wood below the surface you see, but it will be more forgiving of mistakes. I have never done a handrail, but if I did I think I would use the screw and plug idea. With a plug cutter you can make plugs that are very difficult to see, looks much nicer than putty. Or like suggested, use a contrasting wood color to stand out.

[cabinetman]

Wood can be "blind nailed" without much of anything showing. The principle is pretty simple, and getting the hang of it comes fairly quick. The procedure is basically to use a very sharp knife, and insert into the grain and gently lift a section of wood, but not remove it. Where the wood was lifted, drive in a finish nail (may require pilot hole), and seat with a nail set. Then apply glue and press the wood back down and apply slight pressure until the glue dries.
.

[SwingKing]

Cabinetman, that's a neat idea! I'll definitely keep it in mind if I go that direction.

I agree about using a 8/4 board for this trim work. My miter joint experiences have been mixed, so I thought it would be easier to get a good looking corner using a solid board. I hadn't considered using a lock miter joint. I've actually got the bit for this, used to make some 4x4 hollow posts out of plywood. The results were only so-so and doing this on my BT3100's miter table was both scary and a real pain in the a**. I suspect using a good hardwood with the joint would give me better results that the BORG plywood I used last time.

FYI, I'm leaning toward using some Q-sawn white oak I currently have for the project. I need the color to be a medium-dark brown with a lot of grain showing, so I think using something like Jeff Jewett's Mission Oak finish procedure. I've used something like this in the past with good results.

Thanks for all the ideas. Definitely keep 'em coming.

-- Ken

[Tamarack]

I like the idea of a solid piece of wood, LOML would ask for 8/4 walnut. Whatever you choose, if you glue and screw it down with properly spaced screws, you could remove the screws after the glue sets and replace them with a contrasting color (say, maple?) Miller dowels for a nice contrast and easy to do.

Paul