We estimate that a handy homeowner with carpentry skills and tools can do the job for $275, the cost of the railing components. This includes a wooden railing with balusters, sometimes called spindles ...

Q-I’m in the midst of renovating my first old house. The staircase leading to the second floor has an oak handrail with spindles and a curlicue thing on top of the post at the bottom of the stairs.

Simply defined as a tall post at the head or foot of a staircase, a newel post is often the first thing you see when you enter an old house -- and the first hint at the style and grandeur within. A ...