How much more expensive would it be to lose this Newel post from my staircase design?

[Adsibob]

Below is a snapshot of a design I've received from the company doing our staircase. As you can see, two steps from the first floor landing there the stairs begin to turn 180 degrees around a rather tall and chunky newel post. I don't love this newel post but the staircase company tell me it's important for the stability of the staircase. They say they can remove it, but the staircase and particularly the handrail won't be as sturdy. Surely there is some way of engineering this so we could have a thinner less dominant newel post but still a sturdy handrail.  Has anyone got any experience of the structural engineering of handrails? Just wondering if it would be feasible to replace the cuboidal newel post with a round steel post that was thicker than the steel spindles/balusters (shown in black) but thinner than the current wooden cuboidal newel post. 

 

[ProDave]

So you have to have wooden spindles and handrail?

 

If you used something like the Burbidge fusion system that we used, you would only have a dwarf newel post that need not stick up much above the sringer, then a much more slender post above that.

 

[Adsibob]

36 minutes ago, ProDave said:

So you have to have wooden spindles and handrail?

The spindles we're having are actually made of steel. I think they are hollow, which should give them a bit more rigidity. We have specified a wooden (oak) handrail because I think it will look really nice with the rest of the hallway.

I'm not familiar with the Burbidge fusion system. What's its advantage?

[bassanclan]

You need to look at continuous handrail systems if you want to lose the newel post.

[ProDave]

On 22/10/2021 at 23:12, Adsibob said:

'm not familiar with the Burbidge fusion system. What's its advantage?

We liked the look, the mix of wooden rails and relatively slim wooden newels, and the metal spindles and brackets to join them all together.

 

In your case it would make that newel post slimmer, but not eliminate it completely. 

[Hobbiniho]

the problem you have is that you have several kite steps that are housed in the newel aswell as the risers the combination of the 2 provide the structure, the steel to replace it would need to have brackets to hold the ends of the kites/ risers so would be quite bulky, the other option you have of you dont want newel posts is to have a semi helical stairs