Looking for a bit of help here guys I am looking to do a stair refurb and want to remove the stud half wall at the top of the stairs and replace it with the glass panels to let more light in at the top of the stairs. I am not going to touch the existing newel post just sand it back and put a cap on the top of it what’s the best way to tackle this job What is most likely to be behind what looks like cladding on the wall and can it be removed
Could be just thin ply over the top of the old Ballusters/spindles. If so, you could remove it and go back to the original
Get the skirting off, then it depends if it's blockwork, plasterboard or ply/hardboard, either ways remove it all tidily, as CGN says there may be spindles hidden behind but I doubt it as the property doesn't look old enough, from the late 60's 70's at a guess. If it's block use a hammer and bolster, plasterboard and timber sheet a claw hammer and wrecking bar.
Thanks for reply,dont think there will be spindles underneath,hoping it is just ply would make my life easier
its plasterboard maybe even that eggbox/honeycomb stuff inside it,yeah it’s an early 70s build so good guess
Bash it out then, clean it all up, square up the bulkhead end, job done ready for glass. Personally I'd leave the current handrail in and give it a good scrape back to decent timber and chamfer the long edges to match the end, but that's me.
I did think about doing that but I wasn’t sure if I would need to put a half newell in at the wall end to brace it up, as I don’t know how the other end of the handrail is fixed
By a strange quirk of fate - this is exactly what I've been doing today. Bit more involved - new oak newels, handrails and baserails, but you'll get the idea. Few bits to finish off on Monday. All the advice from the other lads is spot-on.
Just done something similar a few months ago. We used this company :- https://stairfurb.co.uk/ The only thing I would not recommend is cladding the newel post. They supply a cladding kit which warped quite badly and was a bit tricky to fit. In hindsight I would have replaced the whole post, which they can also supply. Other than that it was a positive experience and very straightforward.