First time posting here, hope it’s in the right spot.
I have a wooden banister that’s connected to a rosette. The rosette is pulling away from the wall and the handrail is pulling away from the rosette (see pics).
Everything is nailed together with some small finishing nails and putty’d over.
2 party question, how could I get this secured back to the wall? Easiest path of resistance preferred. And if it’s too much of a pain, how would I get the nails out to secure it properly?
Replies
Can you find out if there is a vertical 2 X 4 in the wall that lines up with the rosette? In any case it will be un proper to use the same fixation method and removing the handrail will be involved.
Yes, it really will make a difference if there is any structure behind the rosette. Is there a stud, or horizontal crosspiece? Or it it just drywall with nothing behind it?
Regardless if there’s a stud behind the rosette I’m assuming it all needs to come off. What’s the best method to get the finishing nails out? You probably can’t see from the pictures but they’re used to secure each of the vertical posts to the top handrail too.
I don’t think it all needs to come off. I would separate the rosette from the rail using a hacksaw and then remove the rosette from the wall using a hacksaw or small pry bar. Next cut or grind off all the nails at the surface. Now assume you find there is a wall stud where the rosette was attached. There are probably a couple options.
Reattach rosette to wall with screws that you countersink and cover with button plugs, then drive another screw from the bottom of the rail into the rosette. Or if there is room attach the rosette to the rail using a screw through the backside of the rosette then attach to wall with screws as mentioned above.
The other thing you must address is, if the rail and rosette are pulling away from the wall that much, the post at the opposite end of that section is also loose, and should be tightened.
Any idea why the railing is separating? Is it being pulled loose from use (i.e. are kids pulling it loose)? Or is it coming loose because the house is moving/settling? The first reason is easy to fix. If it's the second, this might be an warning sign of a bigger problem that should be addressed now.
My biggest concern is how to get the finishing nails out of each of the vertical pieces... they're pretty much nailed all the way in the top rail and have colored putty over it. I could potentially get a fine screwdriver and carve a space around the nail but getting it out would be tough since its in all the way.
Getting the rosette off is easyish too, I could use a sawzaw and cut the nails going into it from the top rail and then basically pull it off the wall. Getting it all back together w/o knowing how to get the top hand rail off is the part I'm having issues with.
And the kids are probably whats causing it, and/or the fact that it's more than likely not secured in a stud. I can use a wall anchor and countersink a screw into the rosette and into the drywall and it should be fine. I sold my house and the buyer wants the "banister secured to the wall" which it technically is, but I'd like to make it a little cleaner.
Another way to repair this would be to remove a couple of the balusters closest to the wall and drive a screw into the stud from below. Then when the balusters and fillets are reinstalled, none of the work will show. You ought to be able to tighten everything up prior to drilling and driving the screw in by whacking the other side of the post to drive everything back together, or a better method is to wedge a board between an opposite wall with shims between the board and the post, and a flat board between the board and the wall. Wedge it in really tight then whack the post (of course with a board shielding the post) toward the wall with the rosette.
Never try to pull a nail through the finished surface. Cut the rosette free, and pull the nails out the back. You don't care how much that splinters. Or, just cut the nails flush on the back, and leave the stubs in.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled