Decks

Posted in: Decks
Deck Railing Post
By Martin Smith
May 24, 2008 - 6:18:15 AM

Question - I am planning to rebuild the sidewalks which lead to the porch, steps and the front porch of the house. Though the porch would be wooden, the sidewalks and the steps would be made out of natural stone. Can you suggest me some ways for fastening the handrail posts of the stairs to the wooden porch towards the top and the stone steps towards the bottom, so that they are safe and secure like the new posts of the staircase? Despite whatever and how ever I try to design the stairs, they seem to be little shaky.

Answer - You are not the only one going through this dilemma. Like many other self- builders and even professionals for that matter have been experiencing the issue and facing it as a hard core reality, which is not rare in cases of the railing posts. After grabbing a number of railings, I have concluded that almost all staircases wobble towards their bottom end as comfortable as the gear knobs of my Volkswagen Beetle of 1969.

The deck railing post or the stair post is like a simple lever, and the big task is to secure the bottom of the lever in a way that it doesn’t move at all.

This goal can be accomplished in a lot of ways. It has been noticed that some people just complete the task halfway and as a result, finally the stair posts wobble over a period of time. Most of us bolt or nail the posts of the stairs towards the sides of the staircase’s wooden framing; this is not at all suggested. A still better way would be to place the post in the ground, surrounded and filled with concrete. Though this might be a slightly better option, but with time, the concrete loosens or cracks causing shrinkage in the post and hence in the end, the stairs do wobble.

You must have observed that the posts of the new stairs are quite firm in their places and don’t move very easily; this is because the post is extended far below in the ground, than is visible to you. In fact, it would be safe to conclude that these stair posts are as deep as twelve to sixteen inches, than they are visible over the line of the floor. This excess length of the posts is snuggled deep into the solid blocking in the staircase and the ground flooring underneath the staircase.
 
I have been quite successful in making solid external posts for the stairs. The easiest to handle is the top post of the stairs and can actually accomplish dual task as post for the stairs and also as an excess support for the floor joists or beam which may be running parallel to the house’s front wall.
 
Another thing to remember is that the post should always be in one piece of lumber from the top to the bottom, where it is connected with a metal connector to anchor it into the concrete pier. This post usually stretches upwards from the base concrete pier through the floor joists or beams. At this point, the post should be bolted to the framing wood. This double locking method would ensure secures the post, leaving no place for it to rotate or move at the point where it joins the floor of the porch.

In comparison to the post on the top, the one towards the bottom is harder to design. Though the work becomes a little easy, if a 4x4 wooden post is used for building the structure. The first step is to make the steps so that the posts can be placed correctly. You can consider visiting a welding store or a metal shop to get a piece of the steel tubing in the size of 4x4, which would be very helpful. Also buy a piece of tubing which has thick sidewalls and is 2 feet long in length. Get some small pieces o scrap metal or a round pipe welded towards the side of the tube.

You will find that the wooden post will wiggle, even though it will comfortably slide in the metal tubing. Do not worry bout this, it would settle down with time. The next step would be digging a hole, near the expected location of the post. Make sure that it is 10” in diameter and 28” deep from the floor level at the base of the steps.

3 inches of rounded gravel needs to be filled in next, after which the 4x4 metal tubing should be inserted into the hole centre, with the wooden post in the tubing. You can make use of some temporary measures to hold it at the place where it should be located. After this fill the hole up to the top with concrete. You must remember that you got some scrap welded on the side of the tubing, these pieces would interlock themselves with the concrete and as time passes by, they would become more secure and prevent any wriggling of the post. Also water can easily pass through the gravel which was placed at the bottom of the hole, without affecting the post tubing.

Let the concrete dry for a day, and pull the wooden post out of the metal tubing after this period. You may consider cutting small silvers of treated wood to be added towards the bottom ends of the post to make it snuggle deep and fast into the tube. Another option would be to use waterproof urethane glue which would secure the wooden shims to the stair post.
 
Another concern about the metal tubing would be to ensure that it is not affected by elements like rust. To prevent this you should paint the tube with a superior quality primer which is rust resistant. Both the inner and outer surfaces of the metal tube should be applied with the primer, and be allowed to dry for at least a day. A second coat should be applied to the external surface after this period. You do not have to be concerned about the looks and colors of the metal tube, as it will not be visible after being installed.

There are a number of benefits attached to the metal tubing. In future if you wish to change or remove the wooden post, it can be done quite easily apart from the fact that the bottom of the post remains locked and does not rotate, preventing and wiggle of the stair posts.

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