How to Install a Room Dividing Railing

Locate a stud behind the wall where your railing starts by using a stud finder. Hold your rosette against the wall on the stud, with the top end of the rosette at a height of 36 inches. Use your power drill to make pilot holes through the wall and into the stud behind it. The holes should line up with the existing screw holes in your rosette. Use your screw gun to drive wood screws into each pilot hole.

Use a chalk line to snap a straight guideline outward from your rosette location. Snap one line along the inside edge of the rosette to determine the mounting location for every post throughout the length of your railing.

Attach a metal railing post anchor plate to the bottom end of each of your railing posts. There should be one post at each end of the railing, and one every 4 feet or so, depending on the length of your railing. Place the anchor plate against the bottom of the post so it is perfectly centered, and use your power drill to make a pilot hole at the center mark and at each of the anchor plate screw holes.

Drive flat-head wood screws through the anchor plate and into the post with your screw gun. Place the post in position, and use your screw gun to drive wood screws down through the extended lips of the anchor plate and into the flooring surface and the floor joists beneath. These screws will hold your railing post firmly in place. Repeat the post installation procedure at each post location.

Cut a strip of toe rail out of 1-by-4-inch lumber. Use your circular saw to cut the wood to fit between the wall and the first post in your railing. Lay it in place and use your hammer and finishing nails to fasten it to the floor. Drive one nail every 16 inches or so. The toe rail should cover the extended lips of the post anchor plates, creating a more finished look.

Drill pilot holes every 3 1/2 inches along the center of the toe rail. Railing balusters typically have a wooden peg at the bottom end. Your balusters will sit in these holes once installed.

Install the handrail onto the posts. Hold the handrail in place between the rosette and the first post, and use your power drill to make two pilot holes at each end of the rail. The holes should start on the underside of the rail and should extend through the rail and into the post or rosette. Use your screw gun to drive wood screws into each pilot hole.

Slide each baluster into position along the length of the railing. Insert the bottom peg into the holes you drilled, and slide the top end to the appropriate point on the underside of the handrail. Use your level to ensure that each baluster is perfectly plumb. Use your nail gun to drive finishing nails into the top end of each baluster at an angle so it is fastened to the handrail above.