Landing Spindles

[MortarThePoint]

Along the landing, we're having Sapele hand rail and base rail with painted spindles in between and painted newel posts. The stair itself is an Open Stringer (or Cut Stringer) design and we're having Sapele treads with painted risers, stringer, spindles and newels. On the stair, the spindles have to be dowel fixed into the treads since there is no stringer top edge to put a base rail on.

 

Every installation I see for spindles along a landing involves the glued packers, a blob of glue top and bottom on the spindles and perhaps some narrow pins through the edge of the base rail and hand rail into the spindles. Does anyone dowel their spindles into the base trail? Would that be excessive? I want to make sure I don't have an unpleasant surprise with the BCO if he says I should have added some fixing to the spindles.

 

  

https://www.grosvenorstairs.co.uk/product/sapele-low-profile-handrail-44mm-x-60mm/

https://www.grosvenorstairs.co.uk/product/sapele-traditional-baserail-60mm-x-30mm/

[Oz07]

I'd love to see the finished article when you're done as it's exactly the kind of staircase I want, down to sapele handrail too. Where are you getting it from? Nobody dowels their spindles into a base rail. However if you want the clean, no baserail look on the landing you could just have a nosing to finish off the edge of the floor boards, painted or stained and your spindles doweled into that. It wouldn't be hard to do for any decent chippy just a case of setting it out and drilling some holes.

[MortarThePoint]

On 16/05/2026 at 20:13, Oz07 said:

I'd love to see the finished article when you're done as it's exactly the kind of staircase I want, down to sapele handrail too. Where are you getting it from? Nobody dowels their spindles into a base rail. However if you want the clean, no baserail look on the landing you could just have a nosing to finish off the edge of the floor boards, painted or stained and your spindles doweled into that. It wouldn't be hard to do for any decent chippy just a case of setting it out and drilling some holes.

 

Progressing: plan to have sapele shadow gap newel caps as well as the hand and base rails and stair treads.

32mm spindles with 79mm gaps to match what the gaps on the stairs will be.

 

 

 

[MortarThePoint]

Be warned, installation is much slower than it would be if all was painted. If all was to be painted then everything could be installed and then painted together. I've had to pre-paint and varnish everything and then carefully install.