Loose Stair Newel

Did an inspection on a home I'm looking to purchase and it turns out that the bottom railing is loose. The thing is that I didn't see any screws that could use some tightening, so how does the newel usually adhere to the base below it? I saw some YouTube videos that showed a builder drilling into the base of the main newel to clear out some wood and that exposed a bolt inside but wanted to get your take on any drilling first or if there's a better alternative. See attached.

Thanks!

 

How its attached often depends on what kind of floor you have. If its a concrete slab then it's likely just screwed to blocking inside the step, behind the riser. If there is basement below, the newel often extends alongside the floor joists. Either way, it's not a very easy fix. About all you can do is run some long finish screws into it from the side and hope that that firms it up.

 

I couldn't just do what's shown here? I was hoping that using a drill bit towards the base would reveal a lag bolt. Tighten that up and you're good:

https://youtu.be/GERTiyOgXNM

 

Can you see any plugs on your post? It looks smaller than the one in the video and may not be fastened the same way. You could try a metal detector before doing any random drilling.

In the video you can see a screw near the base where someone tried the method described by Xsleeper but did not go through the base of the newell post correctly. If you use a longer screw (6+ inches) you could start higher on the base and even countersink the screw head and cover it with wood filler.

 

I'll have to inspect it further and get back to you. In the meantime, i'm guessing i can always use something similar to this product and paint it white:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/ReliaBilt-R...-CT/5001634821

 

You should put one or two on each side.

You could also add trim like baseboard over the angles. Gouge out the back and bottom of the trim the thickness of the angle so it is flush to the newell post and step.

 

2john

Can you link to any products?

 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/EverTrue-5-...-ft/1000445081

That is just one example, there are dozens of different wood trim that will work. You'd want to route/chisel out enough on the back side where the bracket goes so it will fit flush over the bracket.

 

Speaking of that, what would I use to make a precision cut? It seems too small for a regular circular saw. Not sure if I'd have to get some expensive equipment just for that.

Also, see attached for photos of the bottom of the newel. There doesn't seem to be any signs of a hole there or anything that's serviceable. I'm guessing I'll have to drill.

 

It's typically cut with a miter saw. If you don't have access to a power miter saw you could use a cheap hand miter saw. If you'll have further use for a mitersaw I'd highly recommend buying one. 10" blade is usually enough for homeowners.

 

I'm not sure you understood my earlier suggestion. It's quite simple. Put 6" long T-25 torx screws into the bottom of the newel. At a minimum, the newel post should extend all the way down to the floor... so put your screws in through the curved part of the bottom riser, 1" above the floor. The screws will be long enough to reach the bottom of the post. You should be able to hit it at least 3 times around the radius of the curved riser. The 1st screw would be in the far right side of photo 1, post 1, about 1" above the floor. The other 2 screws would be about 4" to the left and 4" to the right... angled in toward the center of the post.

Use a countersink to make a cone for the head of the screw... so that when it is tight, the head will be just below the surface of the wood... then spot the screw heads with painters putty.

But here is the thing... if you can stick a putty knife under the newel.... (bottom photo post 9) then it wasn't built right, and the post does not extend to the floor like it should.

 

LOL. I'll go to Home Depot and see what I can do. I'll let you know.

 

Ha Ha, we JUST rewatched that movie with some friends who have kids that had never seen it. Good stuff.

 

So drilled a portion of the newel that exposed the screw seen here. Is there a special tool that can fit in there? I'm hesitant to drill more unless you recommend doing that. The wrenches i purchased have these curved shapes that prohibits me from reaching them inside.

 

A box wrench should fit. You could chisel out the rounded side portion near the bottom if necessary. There may be another bolt on the other side since this one looks close to the edge and might cause the post to tilt if tightened.

 

I got a couple couple of those from the store. I'm worried I'll have to drill the whole thing to ****. How do you repair these posts when you're done drilling?

 

If you had found the original hole and pried out the plug you could have just inserted another plug. Given what you have now you could make a larger round hole with a hole saw and a larger plug. Or use the original size plug and wood filler around it. You will need a lot of sanding to make the patch disappear as much as possible but it will probably still show.

If you go with the larger hole solution you can use the smaller plug with a center hole to guide the hole saw. Or you can use the hole saw to cut through another board, clamp that to the post and use it as a guide for the outside edge of the hole saw.

 

This is the wrench you need. It is flat and thin and has a skinny neck which is what you need to turn the nut about 1/8 of a turn at a time.

They also sell wood plugs to plug those holes but the way its mangled you will also have to bondo it or just add painters putty.

 

It would be easier to hide the repair using bondo versus painter's putty. If you can't get the bondo perfect apply a thin coat of joint compound over the bondo.