newel

{{Short description|Post supporting a staircase or its handrail}}

{{other uses}}

A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar around which a helical staircase winds. It can also refer to an upright post that supports or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post").Chambers Science and Technology DictionaryGlossary of Australian Building Terms, Third Edition.(NCRB)Carpentry and Joinery, Volume Three. Dowsett and Stevens. In stairs having straight flights, it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but the term can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase. Although its primary purpose is structural, newels have long been adorned with decorative trim and designed in different architectural styles.Distinctive Wood Designs Inc. (2010) [http://www.distinctivewooddesigns.com/newelposts.php "Newel Post Styles"], 1.

Newel posts turned on a lathe are solid pieces that can be highly decorative, and they typically need to be fixed to a square newel base for installation.{{cite web|url=https://www.pearstairs.co.uk/newel-posts-at-pearstairs-newel-post-pear-stairs/|title=Newel Posts For Stairs & Oak Staircase Newel Posts - Pear Stairs|website=PearStairs.co.uk|access-date=16 April 2018}} These are sometimes called solid newels in distinction from hollow newels due to varying techniques of construction. Hollow newels are known more accurately as box newel posts. In historic homes, folklore holds that the house plans were placed in the newel upon completion of the house before the newel was capped.[http://www.oldhouseweb.com/blog/newel-posts/ Newel Posts and Newel Postlore], old house web[http://www.woodstairs.com/tradepage/secret-compartment-within-a-box-newel-post/ Secret compartment within a box newel post], woodstairs.com

The most common means of fixing a newel post to the floor is to use a newel post fastener, which secures a newel post to a timber joist through either concrete or wooden flooring.{{Cite web|url=https://www.blueprintjoinery.com/timber-stair-parts/fixings-and-accessories/slip-fix-newel-post-to-floor-ut-post-fastener/|title=Slip Fix Newel Post to Floor UT Post Fastener|website=Blueprint Joinery|language=en|access-date=2018-11-06}}