Stairway Railing Post Big Enough To Hide A Wire And Place A Switch

Brendakeen

The electrician I am working with tells me this is a workable solution for one job we are doing where there is no good place to put a switch at the top of the stairs.

Have any of you done this before, and are there railing companies that make a hollow rail for this purpose? How do you anchor it down?

mdshunk

Anchor what down?

Sparky Joe

I could only imagine it would look like crap.

Try talking them into "the clapper"

Brendakeen

The post itself....... if it is hollow, hubby is concerned that it wouldn't be structurally sound. Believe me, our options for placing a switch are few. We could place it in the stairwell if we could get away with 54" high to centerline. The electrician I am working with these past days ( a great guy, who actually brought me banana bread today) - has experience with the inspectors in this city and tells me that they will never OK 54". So our options are building a half-wall ( not in the print and HO doesn't want to pay for it), or making a rail big enough to hide a wire and switch.

I know, not great. We are pulling our collective hair out on this one.

mdshunk

Don't be so sure.

If ADA requirements apply, no. In this home, I'm not so sure that ADA requirements will apply. The NEC and the IRC are mute on switch mounting heights. There might be local jurisdictional requirements that modify that however. Worth checking into.

Plan 9

This would be a great time to get one of those X-10 wireless switches.

Man I'm good.

reveivl

On larger newel posts, they were/are often hollow, built up posts. I see no reason why one of these couldn't conceal a wire and switch. What is the post? Has it been decided or built yet? I'd run it by the inspector to make sure there isn't some arcane code saying you can't do it, however.

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mickeyco

I've done similar and have seen similar to what you're talking about. The ones I've seen were larger stair posts built of several pieces of wood with a conduit in the center. We did a similar installation in Chicago in posts in a loft supporting another loft. It was a large space and the owner wanted the outlets in the post, not on the floor and paid dearly for it. The posts that were called for were 4x4's. oak we upsized to 6x6's oak and had to get an engineers stamp on it for approval by the city. We cut (re-sawed - large band saw with wide blade) off the depth needed on the whole post, routed out for the conduit and box, cut a box hole in the piece that was re-sawn, put the pieces back together with the conduit and box installed, glued and clamped them, installed them and ran the wire from the basement. I would think the same could be done with romex but the rating might be lower, ask mdshunk about that or if it would be feasible at all. You could go low voltage with the same method or cut out for the box and drill up from the bottom. The X-10 wireless switch sounds like a good alternative, I've never used one, I'm hard wire guy. Would a X-10 wireless switch meet code?

Here's a sketch of what we did, if I run across the engineer's drawing I'll post it.

Attached Thumbnails

 

mdshunk

Brenda, I just ran across a solution for your problem:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...ctrician&hl=en

747

Banana bread is excellent. I haven't ate that in years since i was a kid.

Brendakeen

That solution looks feasible, howbeit a bit time consuming. I am passing off the drawings you were generous enough to share over to my hubby the GC.

In answer to everyone's questions - no the railing is not yet built or decided on(I am sending the customer Internet links for different types of railing).

We are considering a half wall, but the HO thinks it may make the room look less spacious.

Cute MD - real cute! I want the bonus Owl optical light myself

I WILL check in with the inspector though, if we can put a switch at 54" all our problems are solved. We have a large beam below that point.

A.W.Davis

edit

Theres got to be alternatives....lets think here!!!!

Cant you use a shallow metal box surface mounted or slightly recessed and route the wire into the face of the beam and put nail plates over the wire.
-or-
Cant you fur out the wall where the beam is located an inch or so to allow room for a compact box and a wire?
-or-
maybe you can talk the homeowner into getting a granite sill on a pony wall where the switch will be located.....thats always a classy touch!!

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72chevy4x4

If the post is similar to some I've installed, which are held in by a couple of bolts at the base, I might worry about the rigidity of the system after years of use and abuse. If there is a 90 turn near the post, it might make become less fatigued. How about turning the rail at a 90 degree angle at the top and run another foot or two newels and a final post-this one can be the 'hollowed' out post to serve your electrical purposes.

mdshunk

Okay... surface mounted Wiremold box? Pendant hung switch? Footswich? The Clapper? Occupancy sensor? Troll to turn on the light at your command? Pull chain fixture?

A.W.Davis

how about a clock positioned at 54" high that is actually a switch. Or a bookcase at the top of the stairs that open when you pull on the book.............the possibilities are endless.

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Brendakeen

And I am going to sweet talk him into a 54" OC switch......we have GOT to get this job moving and the architect clearly doesn't understand electrical!

If he says no, AW I am looking at the surface mount box option but it may not work as we still would have to pull a wire through a very thick beam that hubby doesn't want cut as it would degrade its strength.

alaskafunboy

If the local code will allow you to install a switch at 54", (I don't see why not, if the HO agrees to be able to live with it), do that, and then inform the HO that they could install a wireless switch in a more conveniant location. They (or your elect. cont) coud then bypass the 54" switch with a wire nut, or just simply leave it on after the final Insp.. I'm not too up to speed on the wireless x-10, but if they make a surface mount app., peraps that is the way to go. Please reply if this sounds like a bunch of crap. I deal mostly with industrial electrical. -If it works though, I want some banana bread. (does it keep like fruit cake?) B

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