Chez Jayjayfreak is an old, OLD rowhouse, adjoining another rowhouse on one side and a large corner building that houses a bar and restaurant on the other. Our stairwell runs up the side of the house that adjoins the restaurant.
In the last week or so, the bannister in that stairwell, which was pretty shaky for a while, has given up the ghost and popped its screws out of that wall. We’re pretty sure that the adjoining wall is solid masonry rather than stud and drywall, as the areas where the screws popped and made rather large holes looks to be solid, if easy to crumble, stone. We considered moving the bannister across to the other wall, but we can’t find a stud over there, either. The stud finder I bought appears to be a piece of crap, and couldn’t find a stud if you gave it a free gay.com account and a porn-star user picture. Tapping doesn’t seem to help, as it ALL sounds hollow to me.
Are there any unsung Bob Vilas out there who can give me some advice on this? Should I buy a better stud finder than this $7 special? Should I invest in masonry fasteners and attempt to screw that bannister to the current wall so it won’t come out? We’re pretty much clueless here…
Studs in indoor walls are either 16 or 24 inches on center. If you start from a corner and measure 16 or 24, then tap in a skinny nail till you hit a stud, that’s one way. Unfortunately, it could leave you with lots of little holes, but they’re easy to fill.
Another option might be molly screws, but I don’t know if they’re strong enough to support a handrail should you grab it while falling.
If you do decide to go into the masonry wall, look for inserts designed for use in such walls - ask at a home improvement store.
I’m not Bob Vila, but I watch a lot of HGTV, so that’s how I’d approach your situation.
Since you said it’s an OLD house, studding may be placed at random, and if the wall finish is lath and plaster, the cheap studfinder isn’t going to penetrate the density of the wall finish. In balloon-frame construction, the members are difficult to find by tapping.
How about getting one or two additional brackets for the handrail and relocate them evenly so that the mounting positions move with respect to the wall, and you have more points of attachment? In older/soft masonry, I like using lead anchors with #10 or #12 sheet metal screws-just be sure to drill deep enough to set the anchor in the masonry, not the veneer plaster.
You may be able to make a new mounting point in the existing holes, but this is more work. First you clean out the loose material, and if necessary drill deeper so a good purchase is obtained. Then you get a pound or so of lead wool, available from a wholesale plumbing supplier. It looks like steel wool, but is made of lead. Shove some into the hole, and then use a 1/4" diameter or bigger flat-nose punch and mallet to compact the lead in the hole. Repeat the process until the hole is completely filled, and then you can drive sheet metal or wood screws into the compacted lead for a solid mounting.
