The stair railing will be the last item to be installed to prevent damage to it and to make moving supplies upstairs easier. We built some temporary rails out of some left over 2x6s for safety reasons. Since the boards were outside, they needed a lot of sanding to clean them up for use. (6/8/05)

The rails were Spackled to clean up the surfaces after sanding. (6/8/05)

The railing is screwed in place. 'Tain't pretty, but will prevent falls. (6/10/05)

Here is another view of the railing to show just how ugly it really is. (6/10/05)

The railing is painted, but it still isn't too pretty. (7/1/05)

This handrail was replaced with an oak railing towards the end of construction. It's better not to damage the more expensive railing if it can be avoided. (6/8/05)

The sides of the stairs were trimmed out with boards called skirt boards. They have to be cut to match the stairs. The first step was to create a paper template. (3/1/06)

The railing at the top of the stairs were built using pre-fabricated parts. Here the end cap that goes over the top of the newel post is marked for joining with the rest of the railing. (3/13/06)

The top of the cap is removed so the end can be bolted to the railing. The cap is also glued, which makes a strong joint. (3/13/06)

The cap is bolted and glued to the body of the railing. All that remains is to glue on the top. The tape is there to make glue cleanup easier. (3/13/06)

The top is glued onto the top of the endcap, and the joint sanded smooth. (3/13/06)

The holes for balusters are drilled using a drill press to make sure they are straight and consistent. (3/13/06)

The parts are assembled to check for fit. The excess length on the back of the hand rail has not yet been cut off, nor has the excess off the front of the bottom cap, which makes the assembly look lopsided. (3/13/06)

Checking the base of the balusters for alignment. (3/14/06)

Once the alignment is perfect, I tightened the bolt and drove a finish nail into the corner to keep the baluster from spinning. (3/14/06)