Stairs/Handrails Skill Level: Advanced (Level 3) · Estimated Time: 5-10 minutes per baluster

Introduction #

This guide covers Phase 2 of installing one metal baluster: cutting it to length, installing it, and securing it for good, once it has already been drilled, dry-fit, and checked for plumb in Phase 1, and the rail has come back from the painters, finished and ready. That first pass is Phase 1, covered in How to Build a Handrail for Metal Balusters Like a Pro. Do not start here on a baluster that has not been through Phase 1 or a rail that has not been through the painters, the floor and rail holes need to already exist, the baluster needs to already read plumb in a dry fit, and the rail needs to be finished.

The reason this is a separate pass from drilling is the painters. Once every hole on the run is drilled, the rail goes to them to be painted or stained and finished before the crew comes back. That is what makes this two trips on two different days, and two separate pay units, not just a preference for double-checking the run before locking anything in.

Once a baluster is cut, epoxied at the bottom, and siliconed at the top, it is not coming back out without a fight. Take the extra thirty seconds to recheck plumb before you commit.

Before You Begin #

Prerequisites #

• This baluster has already been drilled and dry-fit, and read plumb in both directions in that pass (see Phase 1).
• The rail has come back from the painters, finished and ready.
• This baluster gets secured with epoxy at the bottom and silicone at the top.
• Top and bottom shoes for this baluster are on hand.

What You Need To Know #

• Cut the baluster to length before it goes back into the floor and rail holes.
• The epoxy comes in a two-part dispenser tube and mixes as it passes through a mixing nozzle, shooting straight into the hole. There is no batch to mix. If you stop partway through the run, the epoxy sets up inside the nozzle and you need a new one to keep going, so run the whole set in one pass.
• Recheck plumb right before you commit, not just at the earlier dry fit. A baluster can shift slightly while it sits dry-fit and waiting. If a hole reads shallow or out of plumb, ream it with a spiral or twist bit, not a spade bit - holes should already exist at this stage, so a spade bit is backup only now.
• Shoes go on before the baluster is locked in place, you cannot add a shoe after the epoxy or silicone sets.
• If the run was set every third baluster first and checked for plumb before the rest were filled in, do the securing pass in that same order rather than straight down the line, so a drift problem shows up early.

Tools Required #

Power Tools #

• 23-gauge pin nailer, for shoes that pin rather than snap into place
• Air compressor, to run the pin nailer

Hand Tools #

• Torpedo level
• Small applicator, for the silicone

Supplies #

• Epoxy dispenser tube with mixing nozzle, for securing the bottom of the baluster
• Silicone, for securing the top of the baluster
• Painter's tape, to protect the finished floor and rail from drips and to hold each shoe up while you secure the baluster bottom

Materials #

• Top and bottom shoes matched to this baluster

Secure and Finish a Stair Baluster: Step-by-Step #

Step 1: Cut the Baluster and Recheck Plumb #

Before you commit anything, cut the baluster to length, then slide it back into its dry-fit position if it was pulled, and check plumb one more time in both directions with the torpedo level. Conditions change between the drilling pass and this one, treat this as a fresh check, not a formality. Cut on the band saw for the cleanest cut on metal; a jigsaw with a metal-cutting blade also works. Cut the longest pieces first. Stairs typically need three different lengths, a straight run is all one length.

Step 2: Slide On the Shoes #

Slide the bottom shoe onto the baluster first, then the top shoe, both from the bottom of the baluster before it goes into the rail hole. If the baluster is already dry-fit in place, pull it just far enough to get the shoes on, you cannot add them after the baluster is locked.

Step 3: Set and Secure the Baluster #

• Run a bead of silicone into the rail hole before anything else goes in. That dab is what keeps the baluster from rattling in the top hole, and you cannot add it once the baluster is seated.
• Put the baluster top into the siliconed rail hole, then drop the bottom into the floor hole, and bring it back to plumb.
• Secure the bottom in two steps. First drive a 1-1/4 inch coarse-thread screw to hold the baluster where you want it. Then run epoxy around all four sides to lock it for good.
• Hold plumb steady with the torpedo level until the epoxy grabs. The screw is what holds it until then.

Step 4: Seat and Secure the Shoes #

Hold the shoe up with painter's tape while you work the bottom of the baluster. Never use the shoe's set screw to do it. Run that screw tight against the baluster to hold the shoe and it dimples the metal, and the next person who pulls a shoe down without thinking drags the screw the length of the baluster and scratches it. When the bottom is secured, pull the tape, drop the shoe to the floor, and then set the screw. Slide the top shoe up against the rail bottom and secure it the same way. Use the 23-gauge pin nailer for shoes that pin rather than snap, the small pin will not split the shoe material.

Close-Out #

Wipe any epoxy or silicone drips before they skin over, dried epoxy or silicone on a finished floor or rail is a much harder cleanup than catching it wet. Set any proud pin nails from the shoes below the surface. Sweep up and check that both shoes fully cover the drilled holes with no gap showing, then move to the next baluster.

Quality Check #

• Baluster reads plumb in both directions after being locked in, not just at the earlier dry fit
• Baluster does not move when gripped and tested by hand, no side play
• Both shoes are fully seated and secured, covering the drill holes completely
• Baluster is cut to length and seats fully in both holes without binding
• No epoxy or silicone residue visible on the floor, rail, or baluster finish
• Any pin nails from the shoes are set below the surface

Troubleshooting #

Problem: The baluster shifted out of plumb between the dry fit and the final set.

Solution: This is exactly why this guide has its own recheck step. Pull it back to plumb before the epoxy or silicone sets. Once epoxy cures, fixing a lean means drilling out the floor hole and starting that baluster over.

Problem: A shoe will not slide down, it binds on the baluster.

Solution: Metal balusters can vary slightly in diameter, and shoes hold tight tolerances. Try rotating the shoe, many are not perfectly round inside. If it still binds, lightly sand the inside of the shoe rather than forcing it with a hammer, which will scratch the finish or crack the shoe.

Problem: The baluster still has side play after the epoxy has fully cured.

Solution: The epoxy likely did not fill the gap around the baluster in the floor hole, often from not using enough or from the baluster shifting before it set. Drill the hole out, clean it, and reset the baluster with fresh epoxy rather than layering more on top of a bad bond.

Related Guides #

• How to Build a Handrail for Metal Balusters Like a Pro - is Phase 1: it covers the spacing, code minimums, and full-run sequence this per-baluster task fits into.
• How to Install a Newel Post - the anchor points the whole rail and baluster system depends on.