Staircase spindles

[lizziecupcakes]

Hi all
in my Edwardian house, we have the original staircase. The spindles are quite far apart, and while not a legal requirement for me to have the gap closed, I quite prefer the look on smaller gaps. So, we are thinking of getting extra spindles in between.

Is this the job for a carpenter? I also have no idea if I need to source the spindles myself.

Just wondering if anyone has an idea of how much this would cost? And do you think it's something I could do? Considering I'm terrible at painting (but I have done my loft insulation, loft boarding, sanding floors, repairing lime plastered walls and wallpapering myself, to give an idea of my rage of skills at the moment)!

Thank you

 

[Cubist]

Is this the job for a carpenter? I also have no idea if I need to source the spindles myself.

It's a fairly easy job for anyone with the right tools and a good eye. The biggest challenges are finding new spindles that exactly match the ones you have in terms of ALL the measurements - any deviations will stick out a mile. The next major hurdle comes from how the top of the spindle is fitted to the balustrade - many of these sit in a machined rebate on the underside of the the baluster and are spaced and held apart by wooden inserts which are fixed in place to prevent any moment. The spindle itself is not normally nailed or screwed into the baluster. The foot of the spindle may also fit and be held in place by a similar arrangement OR it may have a round/square tenon that is located in a hole in a rail that sits on the stair stringer or even directly into a stair tread board.

Post a couple of photos of the spindles, the underside of the baluster and the foot of the spindles if you think more information would help.

 

[lizziecupcakes]

Thanks Cubist. When I get home, I’ll post some photos for you

 

[lizziecupcakes]

Here you go

 

[paulc]

It's a fairly easy job for anyone with the right tools and a good eye. The biggest challenges are finding new spindles that exactly match the ones you have in terms of ALL the measurements - any deviations will stick out a mile.

Ideally, you'd want to find someone with a copy lathe, but don't expect it to be a cheap job.

 

[Cubist]

I think you might - or should - take a leaf or two out of Sun Tzu's writings and either 'Choose to change the battlefield' or 'Run away'.

Any additional spindles would have to be installed, like the originals, on the tread of each stair and, for aesthetic balance, these would typically have to be centred/equidistant between the old spindles. Moving the vertical centre line of the existing spindles would require significanf/major surgery to the stair treads and perhaps also the risers. Further surgery may then be required to the nosings of the tread board of each stair to provide room for placement of the new spindles and create a mortice for the locating tenon. Corresponding surgery for the baluster would also be essential but would be limited to removing the extant spacers and cutting new ones of the required length.The required modifications to the tread boards requires consideration of these to ensure they are sufficiently strong and able to resist the necessary work. Finally, and as @paulc implies, the likelihood of finding stock spindles that exactly match the pattern and dimensions of the current spindles would be challenging at the very least and consequently it would be necessary to have the new ones made OR scrap all the old ones and replace them with currently available stock pattern models.

The latter option would be to 'Change the battlefield' but the best, in my opinion would be to 'Run away'!

To convince yourself get a piece of 40mm square PSE of a suitable length and try to position it at the mid-point between two of the spindles to gain an idea of how the finished stair might look and to gauge the amount of work that may be required. Sorry to be a damp squib.

 

[LadyArowana]

I agree they look very gappy, we have 3 on each tread, which I only just realised when I went to check.

 

[stuart45]

General rule is that you can't get a 100mm sphere through them at any point.

 

[Cubist]

Coo, @LadyArowana silly me, I forgot that proportional reduction in height for the intermediate spindles ho hum
Add another decision/action to the plan, which end to cut - top, bottom or both? Personally I would favour the foot, like yours - the proportions appeal to my eye but I do wonder how that may turn out at the baluster level?

 

[LadyArowana]

General rule is that you can't get a 100mm sphere through them at any point.

And still have an undamaged sphere on the other side , iirc someone mentioned something about babies heads when we were discussing balcony railings, it’s possible made inappropriate comments.

 

[Kearn]

And still have an undamaged sphere on the other side , iirc someone mentioned something about babies heads when we were discussing balcony railings, it’s possible made inappropriate comments.

Isn’t it ok to go through? I thought the issue was the reversal process…

In all seriousness though, BRs don’t come into play in this scenario and for the sake of a few bits of wood, that is a hell of a complicated challenge to design, build a jig or two, then craft. Let alone the dismantling, dry fitting, tweaks, repeat…

Our stair repairs/extension became a hell of a head scratcher, which to look at you wouldn’t really imagine.

My joiners and framers and I spent too long debating options on the spindles and how to locate in the rail and string, so that potential movement could be managed. Always going to happen, even with joinery grade oak…