House Bannister

JayToukon · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:11

Long story short, I had to pull my bannister off the wall to get my couch upstairs (our living room is upstairs and door is downstairs....weird, i know!). The bannister was only attached, loosely, by 8mm(ish) screws that went straight into the plasterboard.

What i need is to be able to re-attach it for an apartment inspection on the 26th and then when we move out next June i'll need to be able to take it off and put it back on again to get the couch back down the stairs. Needless to say i need to make sure that the estate agent can't tell at any point

JBuk · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:13

Well thanks for telling us
what would you like us to do?

JayToukon · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:15

I want to know of any ideas on how to temporarily re-attach the bannister....sorry if that wasn't obvious.

tom_e · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:15

So screw it back in? or are you saying you acutally ripped it off rather than unscrewing it so now you need ideas on how to get it back on and looking normal?

JBuk · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:15

screw it back in?

GJ02 · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:16

no more nails

Raumarik · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:16

Screw it back on then, if possible into wood rather than plasterboard or use the existing fixings if you didn't do the utterly stupid thing of actually "pulling" it off the wall.

JayToukon · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:17

Yeah i ripped it out pretty much - there was no access to the screws at all from the front of the bannister. In my defense it was pretty much already hanging off, and, the estate agents initially told me we were OK to buy a new couch etc etc and then denied it so, they're the enemy

Raumarik · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:17

GJ02 said:
no more nails

Daft idea as it's a temporary fix, that'll make it harder to remove next time without clearly screwing up the wall and needing to spend a long time with mr Polyfixer!

JayToukon · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:18

GJ02 said:
no more nails

Yeah but will i be able to pull it off again in a few months then put it back on? Without completely destroying the wall?

xGBHxPegasus · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:18

tom_e said:
So screw it back in? or are you saying you acutally ripped it off rather than unscrewing it so now you need ideas on how to get it back on and looking normal?

I thought this would have been obvious (the screwing it back in part).

The ripping it off the wall part sounds a bit stupid.

cm1179 · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:21

it's a handrail

JayToukon · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:22

BOBPegasus said:
I thought this would have been obvious (the screwing it back in part).

The ripping it off the wall part sounds a bit stupid.

Like i said it was already pretty much hanging off and there's no access to screws at all, they're attached to the back of the handrail/bannister which screw into the wall. There looks to be circles on the front but they're covered by wood - not just paint. The the screw heads are buried deep in there somewhere with a lump of wood which i assume is glued back in.

TheCrow · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:38

Sounds like you should pay up and stop damaging other peoples property?

JayToukon · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:40

TheCrow said:
Sounds like you should pay up and stop damaging other peoples property?

There's a loooong story to why this happened, but it's not really relevant.

Stupot_ · 14 Nov 2010 at 21:42

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/18266...Hollow-Wall-Anchor-5-x-43mm-6-13mm-Pack-of-10

Just get some of those.

Drill a larger hole halfway through the banister so the screw head sits within it. Banister can then be detatched when you need to take the sofa down again, when you put it back on the last time fill the holes up with wood filler and paint to match.

Vonhelmet · 14 Nov 2010 at 22:16

cm1179 said:
it's a handrail

Man, I can't believe there's someone else on here pedantic enough to know the difference between a banister, a balustrade and a handrail.

Assuming you know what a balustrade is, I mean.

Raumarik · 14 Nov 2010 at 22:20

vonhelmet said:
Assuming you know what a balustrade is, I mean.

Keeps boats afloat doesn't it?

Ahleckz · 14 Nov 2010 at 22:29

Velcro, it'll also be hilarious when guests try and use it.

cm1179 · 14 Nov 2010 at 22:34

vonhelmet said:
Man, I can't believe there's someone else on here pedantic enough to know the difference between a banister, a balustrade and a handrail.

Assuming you know what a balustrade is, I mean.

i'm not being pedantic, it is a handrail and yes, i know what a balustrade is, just wish more people would use the term