Staircases, along with the steps themselves, feature 4 components: newels, spindles, base rails and handrails. If you don’t know what any of these components are, fear not, here is a guide to what you need to know and how you should decide upon your staircase renovation.
Newels
At the top and bottom of a staircase stand newel posts, which are then topped with newel caps. Newels provide the main structural stability to a stair case and also act as a bold design feature of your staircase. Many finely crafted designs are available for the newel post, with a chunky newel post a particularly popular design feature. If nothing else, newel posts are a particularly handy feature as they are a great place to hang your coat (or many coats) over!
Spindles
Lining the side of the staircase, spindles are the slim vertical posts that fit between the handrail and base rail. Primarily a safety feature of the staircase, spindles not only provide support and stability to the handrail, but they also prevent falls from between the base rail and handrail, which is particularly reassuring if you have children.
Base Rails
A fairly self-explanatory item, the base rail runs along the base of your staircase with grooves in them for spindles to sit in, which then provides support to your handrails.
Handrails
Handrails could well be considered the ‘celebrity’ of the staircase world. Needing no introduction, they are an essential safety and style feature of the staircase, and invariably play a big part on the overall look of your staircase as a whole.
If you are looking for either a staircase kit, or individual parts for renovating a staircase, All Your Stairs are a leading stair parts provider with a range designs and kits available from leading staircase designer, Richard Burbidge.
