Repairs: joinery, doors and kitchens

In 1960s and 1970s properties horizontal rail enclosures were often installed. These offer a set of rungs for children to climb along – with the risk that they may descend head-first down the stairs if they manage to make it over.

Solution

Replacement with a vertical baluster or full enclosure is preferred. If necessary, this can be temporary, using ply over-sheeting across the face of the balusters or a similar arrangement.

If the newel posts are missing but the remainder of the stairs are sound, it should be possible to reinstate a newel post by driving in engineering stud threads before screwing on a new newel post section. A couple of ways to achieve this are shown below.

Once newel posts have been secured, it should be possible to fit a new handrail and baluster enclosure.

Refer to Building Regulations: the balusters should be at 100mm centres to prevent small heads from being wedged through.

Repair to cut down newel post