Continuous and wreathed handrails
Parts Glossary & Jargon Buster
Written by Scott Jones, The Stair Guys, independent staircase measuring and sourcing specialists·Last updated
Look at a run of handrail on a good staircase and you will see one of two things. Either the rail stops at each newel post and starts again after it, or it flows over the top of the posts in one continuous, unbroken line that curves around every turn. The second is a continuous handrail, and the curved parts that make it possible are called wreaths. It is some of the finest joinery on a staircase.
Post-to-post or over-the-post
There are two ways to run a handrail. Post-to-post is the everyday method: the rail runs between newels and terminates into each one, so the posts break the line. It is simpler and cheaper, and perfectly good. Over-the-post, also called continuous, runs the rail across the tops of the newels without stopping, so from bottom to top it is one flowing line. To do that, the rail has to change direction and height smoothly wherever the stair turns or the pitch changes, and that is where the wreath comes in.
What a wreath actually is
A wreath is a section of handrail that curves in two directions at once: around the corner in plan, and up or over in the rise. That double curvature is what makes it hard. A straight length of rail is easy; a piece that sweeps round a turn while also climbing is a genuine test of skill, traditionally set out by geometry and shaped by hand or on a former from a solid or laminated blank. Because every stair turns at its own angle and pitch, a wreath cannot be bought off the shelf; it is made for that stair. That is the reason a continuous wreathed handrail costs more, and the reason it is taken as a sign of a properly made staircase.
Where you see it
Continuous rail suits curved and turned stairs, and quality feature staircases where the unbroken flow is the whole point. It often begins at the bottom with a decorative fitting, a volute (a spiral scroll) or a turnout, curling over the first newel, and uses a gooseneck, a vertical-then-over curve, to lift the rail up at a landing. Whatever the shape, the finished rail still has to sit at the regulated height and be easy to grip, as covered on the handrail requirements page, and it works alongside the profile choices on the handrail profiles page.
Frequently asked
What is a wreathed handrail?+
A wreathed handrail is a continuous handrail that uses curved sections, called wreaths, to flow around turns and changes of rise in one unbroken line. A wreath is a piece of rail curved in two directions at once, around the corner and up the rise, which is highly skilled joinery, set out to the exact geometry of the stair and made specifically for it.
What is the difference between a continuous and a post-to-post handrail?+
A continuous, or over-the-post, handrail runs in one unbroken line over the tops of the newel posts, using curved wreaths to carry it around turns. A post-to-post handrail stops and restarts at each newel, so the posts break the line. Continuous is more flowing and more expensive; post-to-post is simpler and cheaper.
Why are continuous or curved handrails so expensive?+
Because of the wreaths. Each curved section flows in two planes at once and has to be set out by geometry and shaped to the exact turn and pitch of that particular stair, so it cannot be bought off the shelf. That craftsmanship, and the time it takes, is what puts a continuous wreathed handrail among the more costly options, and what makes it a mark of a well-made staircase.
Related guides
- Staircase parts glossary and jargon busterPlain-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 whyA 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 creakA 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-endThe 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 railsHandrail 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.
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