On Friday night my 13 month old daughter found out she can fit her head and whole body through the bannisters of the railings on our stairs. We decided that it needs to be fixed ASAP since we don't want her getting hurt. The bannisters are 6in apart and the railing is only 32in tall. We wanted a railing that is 44in tall and bannisters 3in apart to bring it up to code. My Wife drew up a plan for it on AutoCad that night and I bought all of the supplies Saturday morning.
For the railings, I decided to go with 2x2 square tubing for the posts, 2x1 rectangular tubing for the upper and lower rails and, for the bannisters I went with 1x1 square tubing. Everything is 1/8th in thick because it's only a few dollars more than 14gauge and I don't have to worry about it warping as much since I don't have a fixture table.
This is the first set up railings I have ever made so it has been quite the challenge but I am happy with how it is turning out.
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Existing railings
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Frame for the railing.
[img][/img]
Bannisters going in. Since I wanted the bannisters to be right in the center of the 2x1 rectangular tubing, I built a jig out of 1/2in strap and 1in angle iron in order to get the height and spacing correct. You can see them in the pic above.
[img][/img]
Here is what I had completed as of Saturday night.
Yesterday, I forgot to take a pic but I finished putting in the bannisters and started to fully weld everything out. Once I am done welding, I'm going to grind everything smooth and then start on the upper landing part of the railing which should be much easier since it is just a rectangle.
Let me know if you have any suggestions.
For the railings, I decided to go with 2x2 square tubing for the posts, 2x1 rectangular tubing for the upper and lower rails and, for the bannisters I went with 1x1 square tubing. Everything is 1/8th in thick because it's only a few dollars more than 14gauge and I don't have to worry about it warping as much since I don't have a fixture table.
This is the first set up railings I have ever made so it has been quite the challenge but I am happy with how it is turning out.
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
Existing railings
[img][/img]
Frame for the railing.
[img][/img]
Bannisters going in. Since I wanted the bannisters to be right in the center of the 2x1 rectangular tubing, I built a jig out of 1/2in strap and 1in angle iron in order to get the height and spacing correct. You can see them in the pic above.
[img][/img]
Here is what I had completed as of Saturday night.
Yesterday, I forgot to take a pic but I finished putting in the bannisters and started to fully weld everything out. Once I am done welding, I'm going to grind everything smooth and then start on the upper landing part of the railing which should be much easier since it is just a rectangle.
Let me know if you have any suggestions.