fixing wooden balustrade

[cmac1]

I need to fix wooden balustrade where palings have come loose and some are quite rotten. I have bought / painted / cut the timber but what is the best way to attach them? Thinking I need to hire a nail gun? Should I also use wood glue?

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @cmac1,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

The typical method of installation for wooden balustrades is to drive a stainless steel or galvanised finish nail at an angle through the top and bottom of the balustrades into the top and bottom rail. This would typically be done using a finish nailer such as this Trim Master Gas Bradder, which can be hired through your local store's Hire Shop. This is not the only method, but it is the standard one, as it is easy to fill the nail holes and then paint over them.

You could also use stainless steel or galvanised screws, but you would need to ensure that you put a suitably sized pilot hole in the timber and then a countersink for the head to sit in that aligns with the angle of the screw. If you used, for example, these Zenith 10G x 40mm Galvanised Countersunk Head Timber Screws, you would need to put a pilot hole using a 3.5mm drill bit and then use a countersink bit to create a recess for the screw to sit in.

After installing with either finish nails or screws, use Polyfilla Exterior Timber Filler to fill over the fixing, give it a quick sand, then paint over with your exterior paint.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[AlanM52]

Hi @cmac1,

That balustrade uses a mortise and tenon form of construction.

Because of the condition of the balustrade things are starting to come loose and... fall apart.

For some the tenon (paling or spindle) has pulled out of the bottom rail mortise and most of the others will do the same thing - fall out.

Think of that as a IKEA flat pack with everything laid out on a flat surface and replacement spindles cut to size including top and bottom mortice depth.

The whole thing would be held together at the posts secured in a similar manner as @JacobZ described with angles finish nails.

Cheers