Wood Newel Post for Interior Railings
The Newel Post is what anchors your entire railing system,
whether you chose wrought iron or wood spindles. Thus it is
important to understand the features of a wood newel post,
as it relates to the entire installation process.
 The
size of a standard newel (that used for interior railings)
is typically between 2 3/4" and 3 1/2" square. Box
Newels (as shown in the picture) can be significantly larger.
Wood Newel posts made of softwoods like pine, poplar or hemlock
must be the larger size.
With an Oak newel or maple newel post you can get away with
the smaller size (2 3/4") and still comply with the Ontario
Building Code (make sure to check with your local building
department)
You can typically find 42", 43 1/2", 48" &
55" lengths although the most common on the market are
a 42" or 48" wood newel. Which you chose, depends
on your installation methods.
If you are using some sort of metal newel post fastener then
a wood post between 42-43" is usually suitable. The fastener
is somehow attached to the base of the newel and then screwed
to the floor. I'm not so excited about these as sometimes
you have trouble finding solid wood in which to thread in
the screws.
The preferred method of installation is to drop the post
through the floor and anchor it to the floor joists below.
This does require that you remove some of the sub floor to
expose the floor joists and allow secure fastening. In this
case you would need a 48" newel in order to have enough
wood. See our section on installing a stair newel.
You also must use a 48" long newel post when it is notched
and installed up tight to the bottom step. Since it must drop
that extra 7" to the lower floor the longer newel becomes
critical. This is a great way to really anchor the bottom
newel and strengthen your entire installation.
Often, in commercial installations where it is necessary
to have upper balcony railing heights at a minimum of 42"
it is necessary to jump to the 55" long wood newel.
In fact in the last job I did at a nursing home the 55"
post had to be fabricated with a long square block on top
(at 'A'). This was to allow the handrail coming up the steps
to meet the post, wasn't going to run into the turned part
of the wood newel post.
This is just a few of the things you need to think about
when ordering your interior railing parts. I will add further
installation info as I get a few minutes..
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