Parts Glossary & Jargon Buster

Guides in this hub

• Staircase parts glossary and jargon buster

  Plain-English definitions of every staircase part and the trade jargon you meet when buying one: treads, risers, strings, newels, spindles, nosings, winders, tenons, and the difference between bespoke and made-to-order.

• Is a newel post structural? Yes, usually, and here is why

  A newel post is typically structural, not just decorative. The strings frame into it and it is notched over the trimmer at the floor opening, so it helps hold the staircase together and ties it into the structure. That is why you cannot simply remove or move one.

• How a wooden staircase is put together, and why stairs creak

  A traditional timber staircase is a joinery assembly, not a nailed one: treads and risers are housed into grooves in the strings and locked with glued wedges and glue blocks. Most creaks come from one of those working loose.

• Feature bottom steps: bullnose, curtail and D-end

  The bottom step is often shaped as a feature. A bullnose has a rounded end that returns to the front, a curtail wraps around the newel in a scroll, and a D-end curves at both sides. The shape sets the tone at the foot of the stair and where the bottom newel sits.

• Timber handrail profiles: mopstick, pigs ear, and wall vs balustrade rails

  Handrail profiles are the shapes a handrail is milled to. A mopstick is round and easy to grip, a pigs ear (lambs tongue) is a slim rail fixed straight to the wall, and a grooved profile carries the spindles on a balustrade. A wall-mounted rail and a balustrade rail are different jobs.

• Continuous and wreathed handrails

  A continuous handrail flows over the newel posts in one unbroken line, turning corners and rise changes with curved sections called wreaths, instead of stopping at each newel. It is skilled, made-to-measure joinery, which is why it costs more than a post-to-post rail.

• Timber stair spindles: types, how many, and how they fix

  Timber stair spindles, or balusters, come in styles from plain square to stop-chamfered, fluted and turned. Most stairs use two per tread. They fix into a groove in the handrail at the top and into a baserail or the string at the bottom, with fillet strips setting the spacing so a 100mm sphere cannot pass.

• Stair nosings: the projection rule, wear, and the scotia

  A stair nosing is the front edge of a tread that projects over the riser below. It gives extra foot room and marks the step edge, and its projection is limited by the regulations, up to about 25mm. Nosings take the most wear on a stair, can carry anti-slip for grip, and a scotia moulding often finishes the joint beneath.

• Loose or wobbly banister? What it usually is, and when it is serious

  A loose or wobbly banister is usually a fixing that has worked loose over time, and most of the time it is put right by re-securing it, often with a screw. The exception is a wobbly newel post: a newel is structural, it anchors the whole balustrade, so a loose newel is not a quick bodge and needs proper attention. Either way, a banister is guarding, so a moving one is a safety issue, not cosmetic.