Replacing a broken or dated stair spindle
Written by Scott Jones, The Stair Guys, independent staircase measuring and sourcing specialists·Last updated
A cracked spindle, one that has taken a knock from a bike or a bit of furniture, or a run of plain modern spindles you have simply gone off, does not mean rebuilding the balustrade. Spindles are made to be individual pieces, held top and bottom, so one can usually come out and a new one go in without disturbing its neighbours. What a spindle is and how it sits in the guarding is covered on the stair spindles page; this is how you change one.
How a spindle is held
Most spindles are fixed at both ends. At the top they sit into the underside of the handrail, or into a grooved baserail under it, often with a short infill fillet between each spindle. At the bottom they sit into the tread, into a shoe, or into a grooved baserail along the string, again usually with fillets. Older stairs may have them nailed or housed in; newer ones tend to use grooved rails and fillets. Working out which you have is the first step, because it tells you how the old one comes out.
Out with the old, in with the new
- Free the old spindle. Ease out or cut away the fillets above and below it, or gently spring the spindle out of its housings. On a nailed or glued fixing you may need to cut through the old spindle and work the ends out.
- Measure between the fixings. Note the exact length and the angle at top and bottom, because a spindle on a raking flight is cut to the pitch, not square.
- Cut the new spindle to length and angle to match, checking it stands plumb, not leaning, when offered up.
- Fix it in. Glue and pin it into its housings, or bed it and refit the fillets tight to each side so it cannot move. It should end up as solid as the ones either side.
Matching a period spindle
If the stair is older and the spindle is a turned or shaped pattern, do not settle for the nearest thing off the shelf, because it will always look wrong next to the originals. A single surviving spindle is enough for a wood turner to reproduce the pattern exactly, in matching timber, whether you need one or a dozen. That is the same approach as a full period staircase restoration, just on a smaller scale, and it is what makes the repair disappear.
Keep it safe
Spindles are guarding, not just decoration, so the one rule that cannot slip is the gap. After any spindle work the gaps between them must still be small enough that a 100mm sphere cannot pass through, as on the guarding page. If you are changing the spindle style, check the new spacing keeps that. And if it is not a spindle but the newel post that is loose, treat that as a bigger job, because the newel is usually structural.
Frequently asked
Can you replace just one stair spindle?+
Yes. Spindles are individual pieces held at the top and bottom, so a single broken or dated one can be freed and swapped without disturbing the rest of the balustrade. Free the fillets or housings above and below, match the new spindle for length and the raking angle, and fix it back in solidly. Just keep the gaps to the 100mm sphere rule afterwards.
How are stair spindles fixed?+
Usually at both ends. At the top they sit into the underside of the handrail or a grooved baserail beneath it, and at the bottom into the tread, a shoe, or a grooved baserail on the string, with short fillets between them on newer stairs. Older stairs may have them nailed or housed in. Which method you have decides how the old one comes out.
How do I match an old or Victorian spindle?+
Take a surviving original to a wood turner: one good example is enough to reproduce the turned pattern exactly, in matching timber, for one spindle or many. A shop-bought spindle almost never matches a period pattern and will look wrong beside the originals, so copying is the way to make the repair invisible.
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