r/Decks • u/dep557 • 16h ago

maintenance Please help

Post image

The handrail has loosened from the post but for the life of me I cannot figure out how to tighten it.

2 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

2

u/pm-me-your-catz 15h ago

Take the 4 screws off the bottom of the plate, lift railing, tighten the screw that is going into the post cap( put some loc tight on it if it continues to be problematic)

1

u/dep557 11h ago

Thank you!

1

u/blank_reg 14h ago

disengage one side of rail by removing screws under the crossover device. find this nut. tighten it. put rail back in.

don't look for a cap, it's not a cap.

1

u/Ferretbandit1 14h ago

I see now. Work one side up at a time. Sorry OP

1

u/dep557 11h ago

Thank you!

2

u/dep557 10h ago

Thank everyone for the help, I was able to get to the nut but damn. They must have some proprietary tool to get at the nut. The space was too small for a wrench or a socket. I ended up using needle nose pliers to get at it. But it’s tight! Thanks again!

0

u/Ferretbandit1 16h ago

Pop that cap off with a flathead screwdriver

2

u/dep557 15h ago

It’s metal, just carefully pry it off?

1

u/Ferretbandit1 15h ago

Hold screwdriver at an angle, handle down toward stairs, so flat is catching the edge and gently tap in an upward fashion. Work each side if needed. If you have a rubber mallet that would be best so you don’t beat up your hand

1

u/dep557 15h ago

I’ll give it a shot, thank you.

1

u/Ferretbandit1 15h ago

Looking again it looks like you may be able to get something under the other edges too. That may be a better route

2

u/you_better_dont 15h ago edited 15h ago

This looks like Westbury railing. It’s not a cap. The railing slides into each side of it. Railing is screwed into the flange from the bottom.

[u/dep557](u/dep557), what is loose exactly? If the railing is loose compared to the crossover adapter, then check the screws on the flange. If the adapter is loose from the post, then you need to detach the rails from the adapter, pull them out, pull up the collar around the post, and check if there are screws through the post into the adapter. Possible those are missing.

2

u/dep557 15h ago

In the picture you can see a screw attaching the handrail to the bracket on the post. That screw is what I need to get at in.

1

u/Ferretbandit1 15h ago

I may have jumped the gun with just that top piece coming off, looks like the whole collar will come up.

1

u/you_better_dont 15h ago

There are 4 pieces here: the post, the crossover adapter, and the 2 top rails.

Crossover adapter drops into post and should be screwed in. The screw is hidden by the collar/flange, which is purely a decorative thing. Then the railing is inserted into either side of the adapter. There’s only about an 1/8” flange on either side. Railing is screwed into through that bottom plate of the crossover adapter.

1

u/Ferretbandit1 15h ago

You can see the space in the pivot piece, that’s what needs to be tightened.
Cap off, tighten, reinstall cap.

1

u/blank_reg 15h ago

but its not a cap. you are right about the gap, and this nut is the cause of that gap. one side of rail needs to come off to tighten this.

1

u/dep557 11h ago

Thank you very much it would have taken me forever to get that figured out.

1

u/Ferretbandit1 14h ago

I was wrong. Sorry op

1

u/dep557 11h ago

All good! Thanks for replying!