# Forum Home Renovation Stairs, Steps and Ramps  How to measure rails for stair case balustrades please

## steerage

I was dismayed to find when I moved in about 18 months ago that this big feature of the house I'd purchased some years ago was now a pile of rotting crap. So I am slowly renovating my back stairs and deck balustrades as no one else wants to, not even for money.
Original job +/-8 y.o. now, was  "finished off" by enthusiastic amateur  in a hurry to clear out, who did not bother to prime his cut ends or  even paint balustrades very well. Result: most of the LOSP pink primed hand & toe rails developed end-rot and sags, clout nailed balusters started flapping in the breeze. Baluster spacing was also very breezy. Stair treads required prepping and re painting as deck oil finish was not safe or durable. Balusters only were re useable from stairs, hence I don't have original rails to copy. Newels placed about half way up these rather steep stairs, pitch 55 degrees, had problems with rot in the tread these sat on. Replaced tread and re attached newels mean all runs are "individual" and differ from original design. The attachment sites for previous rails are no longer entirely relevant either, using stringer & baluster pitch. I determined pitch most likely used from a mixture of trig. and measurements. Obviously new rails can be set to fit slash cut balusters [sanded bare, primed x 2, painted x2 on all 6 sides].  To avoid wasting $300 worth of new lvl 'kwila' toe rails and LOSP hand rails, how do I best determine true length between newels to top and bottom posts with a flexible metal tape????? Calculations I can perform will rely on measurements likewise made with a floppy tape. Is this really a trial and error process, [including my hand cutting] or is there some rule of thumb please?

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## Marc

A picture is worth a thousand words. 
I am not sure what is the problem with measuring using a tape. Probably don't understand the question.

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## ringtail

You should never be tight when buying timber. Always go at least 300 mm more or up to the next size which is in  300 mm increments anyway. Example : need 3.3 mt buy 3.6 or 3.9. Get a rough measurement for your quantity. The true measurement is done when the newel posts are in and plumb. Clamp the hand rail to the newels, position it properly and mark it.

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## GDOG

Trigonometry......But for that you'll need the exact angle, exact distance between posts and exact height from the top to the bottom.  55 degrees is steep.  Can't see how you could get a minimum 240mm tread and max 190mm riser which is mandatory by the building code.  But an easier far simpler method is measure the existing stringers from top post to bottom post and hope the posts are perfectly plumb.  Not likely with both stringers probably being different to each other as well.  The safest way is mark the rails on one side of the stairs, minimum of 900mm high plumbed up from stair nosing. level these marks to corresponding posts to ensure they are on the exact same plane.  Not good when you eye them up and one is not on the same slope.  Get someone to hold your tape and measure each side separately.  If sure of the angle,  Cut 5-10mm longer then cut little bits off until it's right.

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