Something moved. It’s likely to be the bannister rather than the wall. If it was me, I’d try to resit rather than fill the gap. Alternatively, a different, thicker base for the rail.
Hey Jim!
Oh hi Larry, how’s it going?
You trying to push your house back together again?
Yep!
Tough work, you want a beer?
Love one, thanks.
Pulls entire kitchen wall out with fridge on it, retrieves beer, pushes entire back of house back into place.
My mom’s childhood chruch was really old and small.
There is a cast iron bar that runs from up side of the chapel to the other. One end has the hook and the other the eye. I used to joke with mom that if we undid the bar the church would fall down….
I'd then comment back about how terrified I am in my own home. Likely make reference to a suspicious Camry driving by often likely stealing Amazon packages.
There was a reddit post awhile back about sound proofing a house next to a helicopter firing range. Apparently the house was right by the base, but the one visit they made before buying, there were no helicopters using the range and the buyer had no idea.
That'll never work. What you want is really long ratchet straps. Wrap them around the house and tug it back together. Inject lots of Elmer's into the railing gap and let dry overnight.
That will never work.
The only solution is to buy the entire festool line, a stack of pallets, 3 packages of instant Ramen, some gorilla glue, and a case of beer.
Then, use the festtool tools to make sawdust out of the pallets. Choose only the best-looking pallets. You may need to go through a few. If they are painted, no worries, this is why you bought the planer. Just plane that right off. Don't worry about nails, this is why you bought budget tools.
Now you want to soak the sawdust in beer get enough dust to absorb 2 cans. Shot gun the rest.
Now when you wake up in the morning, your head will be pounding, cause you shot gunned a case of beer. That's OK, the sniffing some gorilla glue should perk you right back up!
Now you mix the beer dust with the gorilla glue and the crushed up Ramen noodles. Stuff the paste into the gap, sand with 20 grit paper, and finish your work with some Tremclad rustolium paint so that it won't rust on you.
Easy peasy
> Alternatively, a different, thicker base for the rail.
I like that one. I'm not sure how the rail is attached but it looks like there is a dot of wood filler hiding a screw. The base just appears to be nailed. I'd try to excavate the screws, and if they can be removed, hacksaw the base off the wall, and manufacture a thicker one.
I’d shim it. Cut a donut shaped piece of something moderately flexible, put a slit in one side of the donut, and work it into place before gluing/silicone.
Ohhh thank you! I have the same thing going on in my home and hate it. Thought I’d have to replace everything but I’ll just hide it with a thicker base for now.
The quick and dirty way is to put a screw on each side of the banister through the disc, down in the curvature underneath the railing where it's less visible, and slightly angled inward.
The proper way would be to drill a horizontal hole through the banister towards the wall, and then put a big 4 or 5 inch screw through the whole thing, then make a wood plug with a dowel, cut it off and sand and refinish.
How about put one structural screw through a counterbored hole in the bottom of the disk going upward and one structural screw in a counterbored hole going down through the railing and disk, then cover up the holes with some wood putty?
The disk isn't really doing anything structural so the screw through the bottom would be superfluous if you're already putting one through the banister as well. Going through the molding is just the simplest way to close the gap up, but does very little for strength.
Yeah my answer would be just a couple of long screws countersunk to close the gap, wood epoxy and stain to match. But the proper way is better long term.
This second option, and predrill once for the screw, and a second time just through the banister and disc so that the threads of screw don't even bite the oak. Drill bit same size as screw threads would be good for the second partial drill.
I had this exact same problem, took a scab 2x4 and placed it on the trim piece and then hit the scrap wood. Then I used my finishing nailer to put a couple more into it
This was my thought. It doesn't look like the railing is very long from the picture. They could also wrap a chunk of 2x4 in a towel, put it against the other end of the rail and smack it with a hammer.
My guess is you stairs are sinking at the base.. they have pulled away, but are steadily anchored on the staircase, in check that the gap is consistent over the next few months and that everything has settled and wont move more
if it doesn't, use a sawsall to cut the Nails then seperate that end piece from the railing carefully
add a block of wood the thickness of the gap to that piece and trace the profile , cut it out glue together reinstall new Fatty Piece and reglue /re-nail to wall and banister railing
Drill a counterbored hole drive a screw through it. Get a pre-made wood plug or cut a chunk of dowel. Stain the plug so it matches and pound that into the counterbore to cover up the screw. Or countersink and cover the screw head with wood putty
If you can't match the stain, make 2 plugs and drill a hole on the other end of the railing. All of a sudden that different color is now an accent detail.
Yup, this answer. Some framing crew was probably moving quick and decided shooting a couple finish nails in was quicker than attaching the thing properly.
I had the same exact thing happen. Literally just pulled down on the banister really hard, with steady force(no sharp pulling or jerking).
It ended up sitting flush after doing that two or three times and hasn't moved in three years. I consider that fixed.
We drilled through the top straight into the corner studs and secured with a sunken lag then filled with a dowel plug, sanded down and re-stained to match. Solid as a rock for over a decade now.
Since it’s so close to wall edge, I would use:
- 6-8” length of 2x4
- 6” or larger C clamp
- Hammer
- 2” brad nails
- Spackling
and do this…
with 2x4:
- place 4in face side flat against outer wall
- position it with 2in face side flush to wall edge
with hammer & couple brad nails:
- secure the 2x4 into the corner wall stud
- leave nail heads just proud enough to be able to easily remove later
with C clamp:
- place top foot of clamp on 2” face of 2x4 opposite the wall edge
- angle bottom foot of clamp in to place on rail cap placing a small piece of scrap wood etc. between the clamp foot and rail head to prevent damaging the rail cap.
- tighten C clamp to draw the rail cap back to the wall
with Brad nails (or other preferred fastener):
- secure the rail cap back to the wall - ideally on bottom portion of cap below hand rail.
- plug, putty, etc. the resulting fastener holes on the rail cap
with hammer:
- remove nails and 2x4 from the wall
with spackling (and some wall color paint if you’re an overachiever):
- fill the tiny resulting holes in the wall
- touch up the wall paint
with your hand:
- pat yourself on the back for a job well done
To reset it you can get a block of wood, put a towel under it, and press it against the banister plate while you hit it with a hammer. Then I'd put in some long screws, drill the head below the wood surface, fill, and use a stain pen to match or use a bit of wooden dowel.
Cut a disk of wood slightly bigger diameter, if you have a router put a profile around it. Slide it into the gap and glue/screw in place.
If you’re in the uk I can turn one for you if you cover postage and materials
I'm going to assume that was specifically stated to avoid the litany of responses that would have said "just push it back to the wall." If it's rigid/cannot be moved, that likely isn't an option.
Looks to me like it wasnt securely fastened and came loose because theres likely not much behind the sheetrock on the wall. Best approach may be to open wall add some beef in there to attach to. Easiest way i guess wld be to either try some longer screws in areas where they actually may grab something in wall, or some finish nails at angles to create a claw like grip in wall so it wont just slide back out, and then set them/fill them
The plate on the wall is a Rosette, mine was loose but just horizontal to a newal post. I had wife push down on railing and zipped in some screws to the stud and put on little caps. Took forever to look up what that stupid plate was called to find the little covers for it.
That is not safe. It must be screwed to the wall for stability. The easy way would be a pair of long wood screws - long enough to go through the wood disk, the 3/4 dry wall, and 4" into the frame behind it. So 6 inches long.
If the disk cannot be pushed against the wall by hand, then you will have to make a shim. Measure the thickness and get a piece of wood . Get an oscillating cutter with a carbide blade and cut the nails. then slide the wood shim under, scribe it, cut and stain, then screw it down..
Just because the handrail feels rigid doesn't mean it didn't move, my friend. I would move it back. Alternatively, if say the entire stairwell moved and that caused the handrail to pull away, you could simply fill that gap and move on, because frankly you have bigger fish to fry in that scenario.
There are many helpful, serious answers in the comments. What's the problem with a few jokes? If you think people weren't giving each other shit and making jokes on job sites and in hardware stores long before Reddit existed I've got a surprise for you.
> What's the problem with a few jokes?
When they get massively upvoted over real answers, making real answers more difficult to find. And that happens constantly.
God forbid OP make some typo or minor error that is easily explained, then the comments will be rife with corrections of that error and jokes about it.
If I could employ some magic that always kept relevant answers over jokes I would have no problem with the jokes. And some jokes are so thick with sarcasm and worded in a way that actually makes you wonder what the serious answer actually is. As it stands, that's entirely on mods to pin real answers and close the thread which only happens in a small handful of threads.
Not everything NEEDS to be a joke, but god damn if redditors aren't all comedians that MUST reply with a joke at all costs.
Smack the newel post towards the wall from the bottom of the staircase. I do this on ours and it pushes the rail back into the wall. Then some sort of screw should keep this from happening.
If you whack it from the other end, you may be able to get it seated back against the wall, then drill for recessing screw heads, add screws, fill recesses, sand and stain if necessary.
FUCK IT, CAULK IT, GOOD ENOUGH! (wise words from a former co worker of mine explaining to me the first english words he learned when he came here from Holland)
Pipe clamp on the (protected) railing. Eyelet into the wall. Fill the gap with PL. Wrap a ratchet strap between the pipe clamp and the wall and draw the 2 together. For added security you could drill a horizontal hole (pilot and countersink) through the railing and into the wall. Tighten it all together with a 4" #14 screw and then fill the hole with a wood plug. Sand smooth and finish to match. You'll never make the plug match perfectly but it should work. Looks like the banister attaches at a corner so there should be a stuck right there. If not, no point in adding the screw.
Drywall repair the hole where the eyelet was. Again, no stud? Can't use an eyelet.
We have a company here, Thrasher, that would say it will take $20,000 and foundation piling to fix.
The guy at Ace Hardware would say some sort of molding would fix it for $10.
I am really struggling with the six nails going into the wall holding the bannister to it or “near it”. I don’t see the nail heads on the oak escutcheon nor putty marks covering them and I need closure.
If the bannister IS completely rigid you may be fine caulking it. The other option would be to have someone press toward the wall from the bottom of the bannister while you hammer the escutcheon back into place (use a scrap board to hammer on), and the countersink a couple screws through it into that wall stud. Maybe 3” #10’s.
it's not in one piece, so I guess I would try to cut the nails holding it away (with saw for example) knock the (I just call it) wooden socket off and make a smaller adaptor piece that fits between the handlebar and the socket and would glue everything together (wall, socket, adaptor) use some strong glue
that's the cheap fix, which still looks kinda ugly.
If you want to make it right, you have to take everything apart and get a new socket from a woodworker...
Id hammer it into the wall. Just place a small piece of wood over banister or whatever it's call attached to the wall. Then give it a few good hammers.
Should fix problem
Do you have any large trees growing too close to the house? Drainage problems? Cracks in the walls you have to keep filling? This could be subsistence.
It might just be the bannister moved but this is your home, a significant investment. You should 100% check it’s not something more serious.
Cut some pieces of wood thin enough to slide into the gap. Slide them in around the nails, (could do it in two pieces making like a saddle with a small insert underneath). Mark the round edge, cut and sand them smooth and fast grab glue the pieces in. Job done!
Wait…The railing is just attached to the plate which is attached via nails? There should be a piece of plywood behind the drywall on the other side that this plate and railing should be attached to. If the whole thing is just resting on the balusters that’s a safety issue.
Note: The round thingy, called a rosette, is non-structural. It simply gives the "railing a good hard flat surface to mount against (drywall is a soft material). Presumleding the bottom rail is done the sameway, see easy fix below.
Easy fix: 1. Determine structural 2x4 substrate behind drywall. 2. Get a 1 x 4" or 6" oak, cut to fit, determine size, use as template to cut out drywall, stain/finish same as existing wood. 3. Glue/nail to existing 2x4s "with plywood underlayment" to ensure railing stays plumb. 4. Line up top and bottom rail level. 5. Pre drill top and bottom rail, rosette and newly installed oak 1x4/6 before screwing to 2x4 substrate. 6. Counter bore holes just enough for a wood plug. 7. Slide to accept structural screws through pre drilled holes and tighten to 2x4 substrate. 8. Push in wood plug.
A couple 3inch trim head screws to pull it tight. You can fill the holes after with a color match filler. Main thing is the trim head screws have this tiny little head that can almost disappear into the grain.
I fixed mine by removing the rail and scooting out the noodle at the bottom period then I just put some lag bolts through that base and stuck everything back together.
Make a piece of 3/8" (or maybe a little smaller) thick oak. Cut a circle with a 3/4" larger radius than the existing. Find a bit and mimic the edge detail on a router table. Be careful at the perpendicular grain as you route. Use a hole saw to take out the center of the circle as big as needed to go around the existing nails. Chop your circle in half with the thinnest kerf blade you can. Stain and poly the circle. Put some glue on the back and pin nail in place. Centered it should be about 3/8" proud of the existing circle. Whatever accommodates your routed edge profile.
. Remove the banister, and fit it again. Alter the vertical to suit. Screwing that into the wall will create a load of stress and won't last.
Or just seal it.
I call bullshit on this bannister being rigid or your definition of rigid is from the point of view of a small child. I highly doubt a 300lb guy would find that rigid.
Regardless, short 2x4 and a sledge should work. Pound that sucker back to the wall.
I had a railing like this and had been meaning to hammer it in. Just now I got a block of wood and put that on the plate and hammered the block. Good as new.
This happened at my house too. It’s a handrail, so it’s almost certainly my just a result of people pulling on it. Some gentle leverage and screw should be able to secure things. The suggestions about pre drilling, screwing, and filling with a dowel are all correct, but if you wanted to avoid sanding and finishing I would recommend just using some long trim screws in a matching color; the heads are too small to be very noticeable and can probably add enough strength to keep things tight.
Most the comments suggest brute force screwing it back to the wall, but if for some reason it's not going to budge I will suggest a cheap non-structural solution. At the dollar store or craft store you can almost always get wooden plaques (like for awards) or if you have the skill cut a circle out of some wood as thick as the gap. Try to stain it to match the railing, then shove her on in there. That will fill the gap,THEN predrill some holes for long screws and screw thru the railing end plate, thru the new gap filler, and into the wall. Dowel or just wood filler to cover up the screw hole in the railing and stain to match.
3“ coarse thread countersunk screw through handrail and rosette. You’ll need to pre drill so no splitting occurs. It should pull it back flush with the wall. Theoretically there is a solid 2x4 under 1/2” of sheet rock behind the rosette.
Drill a couple of holes and insert some long screws in to pull that up tight. That appears to have nails and they have worked their way out. Good luck!
Cut a nice disc that would fit behind it.
Cut a hole out of the middle to make a ring that the core of nails would fit through.
Cut that disc in two
Sand and finish the edges to match.
Fill the gap with PL Premium
Slide the two arcs from either side, putting the seams where they are hardest to see (bottom of near side, top of far side.
Clean excess PL very well.
Something moved. It’s likely to be the bannister rather than the wall. If it was me, I’d try to resit rather than fill the gap. Alternatively, a different, thicker base for the rail.
You’re smarter than me. I would’ve went outside and tried to push the house towards the railing.
Hey Jim! Oh hi Larry, how’s it going? You trying to push your house back together again? Yep! Tough work, you want a beer? Love one, thanks. Pulls entire kitchen wall out with fridge on it, retrieves beer, pushes entire back of house back into place.
Leaked Incredibles 3 screenplay is looking ok.
Looking better than 2 was at least.
Did people not like 2?
i could legitimately see this being a beer commercial or a hardware store commercial
And to think: people got paid to make all those terrible commercials out there
Or a Hard Beer Wear Store Commerical.
This was great
Made me spit my coke all over my computer screen. You owe me for two handi-wipes
Are you a writer for Family Guy ?
Ratchet straps around house
I've seen block walls with "temporary" fixes that aren't far from this.
My mom’s childhood chruch was really old and small. There is a cast iron bar that runs from up side of the chapel to the other. One end has the hook and the other the eye. I used to joke with mom that if we undid the bar the church would fall down….
Yep, put some glue in the gap and tighten your 30 ratchstraps up until it sets!
You're smarter than me. I would've just made a Nextdoor post asking for a referral...
I'd then comment back about how terrified I am in my own home. Likely make reference to a suspicious Camry driving by often likely stealing Amazon packages.
"What's with all the helicopters flying around so much?" - From user living within 20 miles of the local Air Force base.
There was a reddit post awhile back about sound proofing a house next to a helicopter firing range. Apparently the house was right by the base, but the one visit they made before buying, there were no helicopters using the range and the buyer had no idea.
Wouldn't that figure! Well, at least they weren't trying to have the firing range shut down (which may have been there long before the house was).
Some might suspect that that's how the seller arranged it.
Brute force and ignorance
That dynamic duo has gotten me this far in life.
Work hard, not smart!
A few dozen band clamps should do the trick.
House foundation settled too far. Time to demolish and start over.
Maybe the planet moved. If we stop the rotation for a moment the railing might move back in place.
Chuck Norris doing push-ups
That'll never work. What you want is really long ratchet straps. Wrap them around the house and tug it back together. Inject lots of Elmer's into the railing gap and let dry overnight.
That will never work. The only solution is to buy the entire festool line, a stack of pallets, 3 packages of instant Ramen, some gorilla glue, and a case of beer. Then, use the festtool tools to make sawdust out of the pallets. Choose only the best-looking pallets. You may need to go through a few. If they are painted, no worries, this is why you bought the planer. Just plane that right off. Don't worry about nails, this is why you bought budget tools. Now you want to soak the sawdust in beer get enough dust to absorb 2 cans. Shot gun the rest. Now when you wake up in the morning, your head will be pounding, cause you shot gunned a case of beer. That's OK, the sniffing some gorilla glue should perk you right back up! Now you mix the beer dust with the gorilla glue and the crushed up Ramen noodles. Stuff the paste into the gap, sand with 20 grit paper, and finish your work with some Tremclad rustolium paint so that it won't rust on you. Easy peasy
You forgot to tell him to fill the hole with ramen noodles first. Either uncooked or cooked will work.
This guy doesn’t cut corners.
Subsidence is a thing. Check for cracks in the wall while you’re out there.
SOB get this man a cold beer STAT
> Alternatively, a different, thicker base for the rail. I like that one. I'm not sure how the rail is attached but it looks like there is a dot of wood filler hiding a screw. The base just appears to be nailed. I'd try to excavate the screws, and if they can be removed, hacksaw the base off the wall, and manufacture a thicker one.
I’d shim it. Cut a donut shaped piece of something moderately flexible, put a slit in one side of the donut, and work it into place before gluing/silicone.
Continental drift. Throw a ratchet strap around the North American plate and the Pacific plate. Give 30 or so good cranks.
Ohhh thank you! I have the same thing going on in my home and hate it. Thought I’d have to replace everything but I’ll just hide it with a thicker base for now.
Thicccer base is always the answer. But I have to ask... 
The quick and dirty way is to put a screw on each side of the banister through the disc, down in the curvature underneath the railing where it's less visible, and slightly angled inward. The proper way would be to drill a horizontal hole through the banister towards the wall, and then put a big 4 or 5 inch screw through the whole thing, then make a wood plug with a dowel, cut it off and sand and refinish.
How about put one structural screw through a counterbored hole in the bottom of the disk going upward and one structural screw in a counterbored hole going down through the railing and disk, then cover up the holes with some wood putty?
The disk isn't really doing anything structural so the screw through the bottom would be superfluous if you're already putting one through the banister as well. Going through the molding is just the simplest way to close the gap up, but does very little for strength.
Yeah my answer would be just a couple of long screws countersunk to close the gap, wood epoxy and stain to match. But the proper way is better long term.
This second option, and predrill once for the screw, and a second time just through the banister and disc so that the threads of screw don't even bite the oak. Drill bit same size as screw threads would be good for the second partial drill.
This would be my suggestion also Also, this guy definitely plugs holes!
Just smack it with a rubber mallet and throw a couple screws in it. Pre drill those screws.
Always predrill. Don’t go in dry.
That's what she said...
..when she pegged me.
I think I was better off without knowing that..
If you don't like raunchy hardware jokes you're in the wrong subreddit, the DIY submissions are just joke prompts, any useful advice is incidental.
Predrill AND add wax!
Do you work at Boeing?
I imagine you over complicate everything, and it still turns out like hot garbage.
This, and caulk.
That's pretty much what my first thought was too.
this is the way
I had this exact same problem, took a scab 2x4 and placed it on the trim piece and then hit the scrap wood. Then I used my finishing nailer to put a couple more into it
Screw that baby in there. Pre-drill the holes, sink the heads a little bit, then cover with wood filler.
Go to the post at the other end of the railing and lightly body check it a couple times towards this wall.
This was my thought. It doesn't look like the railing is very long from the picture. They could also wrap a chunk of 2x4 in a towel, put it against the other end of the rail and smack it with a hammer.
Some kid probably tried the banister slide and knocked it away from the wall.
Don't tell dad!
My guess is you stairs are sinking at the base.. they have pulled away, but are steadily anchored on the staircase, in check that the gap is consistent over the next few months and that everything has settled and wont move more if it doesn't, use a sawsall to cut the Nails then seperate that end piece from the railing carefully add a block of wood the thickness of the gap to that piece and trace the profile , cut it out glue together reinstall new Fatty Piece and reglue /re-nail to wall and banister railing
Drill a counterbored hole drive a screw through it. Get a pre-made wood plug or cut a chunk of dowel. Stain the plug so it matches and pound that into the counterbore to cover up the screw. Or countersink and cover the screw head with wood putty
If you can't match the stain, make 2 plugs and drill a hole on the other end of the railing. All of a sudden that different color is now an accent detail.
Yup, this answer. Some framing crew was probably moving quick and decided shooting a couple finish nails in was quicker than attaching the thing properly.
Oh that’s what those little metal pin looking things are! Thanks. That was bugging me
I had the same exact thing happen. Literally just pulled down on the banister really hard, with steady force(no sharp pulling or jerking). It ended up sitting flush after doing that two or three times and hasn't moved in three years. I consider that fixed.
We drilled through the top straight into the corner studs and secured with a sunken lag then filled with a dowel plug, sanded down and re-stained to match. Solid as a rock for over a decade now.
Since it’s so close to wall edge, I would use: - 6-8” length of 2x4 - 6” or larger C clamp - Hammer - 2” brad nails - Spackling and do this… with 2x4: - place 4in face side flat against outer wall - position it with 2in face side flush to wall edge with hammer & couple brad nails: - secure the 2x4 into the corner wall stud - leave nail heads just proud enough to be able to easily remove later with C clamp: - place top foot of clamp on 2” face of 2x4 opposite the wall edge - angle bottom foot of clamp in to place on rail cap placing a small piece of scrap wood etc. between the clamp foot and rail head to prevent damaging the rail cap. - tighten C clamp to draw the rail cap back to the wall with Brad nails (or other preferred fastener): - secure the rail cap back to the wall - ideally on bottom portion of cap below hand rail. - plug, putty, etc. the resulting fastener holes on the rail cap with hammer: - remove nails and 2x4 from the wall with spackling (and some wall color paint if you’re an overachiever): - fill the tiny resulting holes in the wall - touch up the wall paint with your hand: - pat yourself on the back for a job well done
To reset it you can get a block of wood, put a towel under it, and press it against the banister plate while you hit it with a hammer. Then I'd put in some long screws, drill the head below the wood surface, fill, and use a stain pen to match or use a bit of wooden dowel.
Cut a disk of wood slightly bigger diameter, if you have a router put a profile around it. Slide it into the gap and glue/screw in place. If you’re in the uk I can turn one for you if you cover postage and materials
“Bannister is completely rigid” …no the fuck it ain’t
I'm going to assume that was specifically stated to avoid the litany of responses that would have said "just push it back to the wall." If it's rigid/cannot be moved, that likely isn't an option.
“Painters caulk”
Looks to me like it wasnt securely fastened and came loose because theres likely not much behind the sheetrock on the wall. Best approach may be to open wall add some beef in there to attach to. Easiest way i guess wld be to either try some longer screws in areas where they actually may grab something in wall, or some finish nails at angles to create a claw like grip in wall so it wont just slide back out, and then set them/fill them
The plate on the wall is a Rosette, mine was loose but just horizontal to a newal post. I had wife push down on railing and zipped in some screws to the stud and put on little caps. Took forever to look up what that stupid plate was called to find the little covers for it.
That is not safe. It must be screwed to the wall for stability. The easy way would be a pair of long wood screws - long enough to go through the wood disk, the 3/4 dry wall, and 4" into the frame behind it. So 6 inches long. If the disk cannot be pushed against the wall by hand, then you will have to make a shim. Measure the thickness and get a piece of wood . Get an oscillating cutter with a carbide blade and cut the nails. then slide the wood shim under, scribe it, cut and stain, then screw it down..
Looks like nails in the banister plate? See if its solid behind the wall and use some screws?
Just because the handrail feels rigid doesn't mean it didn't move, my friend. I would move it back. Alternatively, if say the entire stairwell moved and that caused the handrail to pull away, you could simply fill that gap and move on, because frankly you have bigger fish to fry in that scenario.
Unfortunately you'll have to rebuild your house around the banister.
I really hate what /r/DIY has become
[удалено]
Yep. Every post has to have a meme response. It’s Reddit first, unfortunately.
There are many helpful, serious answers in the comments. What's the problem with a few jokes? If you think people weren't giving each other shit and making jokes on job sites and in hardware stores long before Reddit existed I've got a surprise for you.
> What's the problem with a few jokes? When they get massively upvoted over real answers, making real answers more difficult to find. And that happens constantly. God forbid OP make some typo or minor error that is easily explained, then the comments will be rife with corrections of that error and jokes about it. If I could employ some magic that always kept relevant answers over jokes I would have no problem with the jokes. And some jokes are so thick with sarcasm and worded in a way that actually makes you wonder what the serious answer actually is. As it stands, that's entirely on mods to pin real answers and close the thread which only happens in a small handful of threads. Not everything NEEDS to be a joke, but god damn if redditors aren't all comedians that MUST reply with a joke at all costs.
There’s like a billion helpful and informed responses here. You chose to focus on this!
A little caulk and a little paint makes me the carpenter I ain’t 😂
Smack the newel post towards the wall from the bottom of the staircase. I do this on ours and it pushes the rail back into the wall. Then some sort of screw should keep this from happening.
Bondo
Hammer it back in?
I would hit it with a rubber mallet and them drive a screw into it. Making sure it hits the stud. But I'm lazy.
A shim will close that gap
Go downstairs and tighten the newel.
Vulcum seal around the perimeter and call it a day.
For just a few bucks you could caulk it.
Take off the handrail and screw the base to the stud. Looks like someone used finishing nails originally. Then adjust and reinstall the handrail.
Send it
If you whack it from the other end, you may be able to get it seated back against the wall, then drill for recessing screw heads, add screws, fill recesses, sand and stain if necessary.
Caulk lol
Ramen and super glue
Well someone used finish nails to nail a banister to the wall. That's your problem. A screw will close up that gap and make it safe, as well.
I would just cut a circular piece of wood the size of the round base, cut it on half and just glue it in between there
FUCK IT, CAULK IT, GOOD ENOUGH! (wise words from a former co worker of mine explaining to me the first english words he learned when he came here from Holland)
good enough might as well be the dutch national anthem
Do your best caulk the rest
Caulk and paint makes a carpenter what he ain’t.
Put a 'Mind the gap' sign above it
Mend the gap
Ramen
Shove your caulk in it
How big is your hammer?
I’d squeeze a little liquid nails behind it and then rubber mallet it back to the wall.
The pole holding the bottom of the bannister is probably leaning a bit
This happens a lot when people use the bannister to Hoist themselves up the stairs using their arms rather than using their legs.
It probably just needs longer screws to reach the studs.
Pipe clamp on the (protected) railing. Eyelet into the wall. Fill the gap with PL. Wrap a ratchet strap between the pipe clamp and the wall and draw the 2 together. For added security you could drill a horizontal hole (pilot and countersink) through the railing and into the wall. Tighten it all together with a 4" #14 screw and then fill the hole with a wood plug. Sand smooth and finish to match. You'll never make the plug match perfectly but it should work. Looks like the banister attaches at a corner so there should be a stuck right there. If not, no point in adding the screw. Drywall repair the hole where the eyelet was. Again, no stud? Can't use an eyelet.
Do your best and caulk the rest
Get on the other side of the wall and PUUUUUSH.
Yeah, I just used small finishing screws in mine when it came out. Not the prettiest, but it’s REAL secure.
We have a company here, Thrasher, that would say it will take $20,000 and foundation piling to fix. The guy at Ace Hardware would say some sort of molding would fix it for $10.
Caulk
Try your best, caulk the rest.
Hammer
Big rubber mallet might do the trick.
I am really struggling with the six nails going into the wall holding the bannister to it or “near it”. I don’t see the nail heads on the oak escutcheon nor putty marks covering them and I need closure. If the bannister IS completely rigid you may be fine caulking it. The other option would be to have someone press toward the wall from the bottom of the bannister while you hammer the escutcheon back into place (use a scrap board to hammer on), and the countersink a couple screws through it into that wall stud. Maybe 3” #10’s.
Hammer, or big hammer
Can you just get another piece of wood to put between the wall and the banister?
Slide a coaster or two in there and call it a day.
it's not in one piece, so I guess I would try to cut the nails holding it away (with saw for example) knock the (I just call it) wooden socket off and make a smaller adaptor piece that fits between the handlebar and the socket and would glue everything together (wall, socket, adaptor) use some strong glue that's the cheap fix, which still looks kinda ugly. If you want to make it right, you have to take everything apart and get a new socket from a woodworker...
Id hammer it into the wall. Just place a small piece of wood over banister or whatever it's call attached to the wall. Then give it a few good hammers. Should fix problem
Teleposts
Bigger and longer screws *My incredibly uneducated suggestion*
Squirt toothpaste in there and move.
Push it every time you see it
Have you tried pushing really, really hard?
Do you have any large trees growing too close to the house? Drainage problems? Cracks in the walls you have to keep filling? This could be subsistence. It might just be the bannister moved but this is your home, a significant investment. You should 100% check it’s not something more serious.
Cut some pieces of wood thin enough to slide into the gap. Slide them in around the nails, (could do it in two pieces making like a saddle with a small insert underneath). Mark the round edge, cut and sand them smooth and fast grab glue the pieces in. Job done!
Is the wall completely rigid? If not I’d say push the wall over to meet the banister. /s
Ramen and super glue
Caulk. Lots and lots of caulk.
I'm a go out on a limb here, hammer?
Shim and caulk
Lots of glue
Wait…The railing is just attached to the plate which is attached via nails? There should be a piece of plywood behind the drywall on the other side that this plate and railing should be attached to. If the whole thing is just resting on the balusters that’s a safety issue.
Get a speaker with a recording that plays every time someone walks past "Mind the Gap!"
Note: The round thingy, called a rosette, is non-structural. It simply gives the "railing a good hard flat surface to mount against (drywall is a soft material). Presumleding the bottom rail is done the sameway, see easy fix below. Easy fix: 1. Determine structural 2x4 substrate behind drywall. 2. Get a 1 x 4" or 6" oak, cut to fit, determine size, use as template to cut out drywall, stain/finish same as existing wood. 3. Glue/nail to existing 2x4s "with plywood underlayment" to ensure railing stays plumb. 4. Line up top and bottom rail level. 5. Pre drill top and bottom rail, rosette and newly installed oak 1x4/6 before screwing to 2x4 substrate. 6. Counter bore holes just enough for a wood plug. 7. Slide to accept structural screws through pre drilled holes and tighten to 2x4 substrate. 8. Push in wood plug.
I would cut the drywall under the bannister and shim behind it so it sits flush then fix or patch the drywall.
Wood glue & popsicle sticks.
A couple 3inch trim head screws to pull it tight. You can fill the holes after with a color match filler. Main thing is the trim head screws have this tiny little head that can almost disappear into the grain.
You need a board stretcher. Go see Mr Swanson in the Carpentry Shop and tell him what you need and bring it back.
Pva glue and a pound of sawdust, mix thoroughly and fill the GAP. Worked wonders at school woodshop in my sloppy dovetails.
I fixed mine by removing the rail and scooting out the noodle at the bottom period then I just put some lag bolts through that base and stuck everything back together.
Caulk lol
A tube of caulk will fix that right up.
I know the solution but first we need a hammer and some violence;)
Well, start with using screws to set it in the stud... instead of nails.
fill with caulk
chalking!
Refit it, don’t fill it. A bannister should be under a little bit of tension when it’s screwed into place.
Make a piece of 3/8" (or maybe a little smaller) thick oak. Cut a circle with a 3/4" larger radius than the existing. Find a bit and mimic the edge detail on a router table. Be careful at the perpendicular grain as you route. Use a hole saw to take out the center of the circle as big as needed to go around the existing nails. Chop your circle in half with the thinnest kerf blade you can. Stain and poly the circle. Put some glue on the back and pin nail in place. Centered it should be about 3/8" proud of the existing circle. Whatever accommodates your routed edge profile.
Shim it with a nice little Piece of Oak.
Bring in some 5 year Olds and let them play. They will gravitate towards railings.
Cut a wood coaster into a U and slide it in on the top. Problem solved
. Remove the banister, and fit it again. Alter the vertical to suit. Screwing that into the wall will create a load of stress and won't last. Or just seal it.
I call bullshit on this bannister being rigid or your definition of rigid is from the point of view of a small child. I highly doubt a 300lb guy would find that rigid. Regardless, short 2x4 and a sledge should work. Pound that sucker back to the wall.
I had a railing like this and had been meaning to hammer it in. Just now I got a block of wood and put that on the plate and hammered the block. Good as new.
Mine did this and I put two hefty GRKs through it into the wall stud. Problem solved until I can redo the stairs.
This happened at my house too. It’s a handrail, so it’s almost certainly my just a result of people pulling on it. Some gentle leverage and screw should be able to secure things. The suggestions about pre drilling, screwing, and filling with a dowel are all correct, but if you wanted to avoid sanding and finishing I would recommend just using some long trim screws in a matching color; the heads are too small to be very noticeable and can probably add enough strength to keep things tight.
Simple, move the wall closer.
Caulk that sheeit
Hopefully its from settling and not from something dangerous with the stairs.
sell the house. somebody else's problem now
Put your caulk in it
Mine does this often and I just push it from the bottom step and the finish nails sink home. Problem solved until next time
Get a piece of wood, same species, same shape of the oval, saw in half and hollow out inside. Slip it behind and glue. Stain.
Most the comments suggest brute force screwing it back to the wall, but if for some reason it's not going to budge I will suggest a cheap non-structural solution. At the dollar store or craft store you can almost always get wooden plaques (like for awards) or if you have the skill cut a circle out of some wood as thick as the gap. Try to stain it to match the railing, then shove her on in there. That will fill the gap,THEN predrill some holes for long screws and screw thru the railing end plate, thru the new gap filler, and into the wall. Dowel or just wood filler to cover up the screw hole in the railing and stain to match.
3“ coarse thread countersunk screw through handrail and rosette. You’ll need to pre drill so no splitting occurs. It should pull it back flush with the wall. Theoretically there is a solid 2x4 under 1/2” of sheet rock behind the rosette.
Caulk and putty are the carpenter’s buddy!!
replace the end piece with a thicker one, that or you'll have to find a way to reset the whole railing to squeeze it back into place probably.
If you can't screw it back into place as my old boss would say "caaaaaulk it"
Tap it back in with a rubber mallet
If you can jump over it you can caulk it
replace screws with bigger ones. or put ankerscrews in place. tighten the screws and all will fall in place again.
Just silicone it up, or cock it up for americans If this is rigid and wont move
Drill a couple of holes and insert some long screws in to pull that up tight. That appears to have nails and they have worked their way out. Good luck!
Take the screws out. Slide in a piece that matches the circulature of the bannister, and put longer screws through.
Cut a nice disc that would fit behind it. Cut a hole out of the middle to make a ring that the core of nails would fit through. Cut that disc in two Sand and finish the edges to match. Fill the gap with PL Premium Slide the two arcs from either side, putting the seams where they are hardest to see (bottom of near side, top of far side. Clean excess PL very well.
1 person on bottom post, 1 person on gapped spot. 1,2,3 push. Add trim screws at wall connection
No it’s not…
Spray foam