How to Knock Down a Solid Banister Staircase

Salvage a Banister and Staircase

• 1

  Inspect the newel post to determine how it's anchored and how to remove it. The newel post is the large main post at the bottom of the banister that supports the handrail. Some newel posts sit on the bottom step, while others sit directly on the floor. Access the bottom of the newel post by pulling the riser off the bottom step or by going into the basement. If it is held in place by a large bolt, remove the bolt to loosen the post without damaging it. If it is held into the floor with a tenon joint, cut this off at the base of the newel post using a reciprocating saw.

• 2

  Remove the newel post at the top of the stairs if there is one, using the same methods as described in Step 1. Some banisters have two newel posts, while others have only the one at the bottom. If there is no newel post at the top, separate the hand rail and bottom rail from the wall, where they are attached either with a mortise and tenon or with bolt. Lift the banister assembly at top and bottom at the same time to remove it from the stairway. Having several people to do this job makes it much easier.

• 3

  Inspect the area underneath the staircase. In older houses, this is often the basement staircase. Knock through the ceiling of the basement staircase, if there is one, to get a good look at the stringers of the main stair. Stringers are the diagonal boards that the treads and risers rest on. If there is no basement stairway, you may have to enter a crawl space or closet underneath the stairway, which increases the chances that there will be a ceiling that you will need to cut through.

• 4

  Prop up the top of the staircase with temporary supports that extend from underneath it down to the floor or basement stairway beneath it. Cut through any nails that are holding the stringers in place using a reciprocal saw. If the staircase is next to a wall, run the reciprocating saw in the crack between the wall and the stringer to break any connection and cut any nails. Different staircases are secured to walls and floors in many different ways. The main goal when salvaging a staircase is to cut and otherwise inflict damage upon the nails, floor and walls rather than on the staircase itself.

• 5

  Get as many people as possible to help lift the staircase up and carry it straight out the front door.

Demolish a Banister and Staircase

• 6

  Take a good swing with a large sledgehammer at the main newel post. If it's cheap and poorly made, the post should fall right down.

• 7

  Pry up the treads of the steps with a crowbar. This will reveal the stringers underneath.

• 8

  Bash the stringers sideways until you reveal the sides of the nails holding the stringers in place. Cut the nails with a reciprocating saw. The staircase is held to the walls and floors through some combination of cleats and nails, which varies from house to house. When demolishing a staircase, you are more at liberty to simply knock things away to discover what's underneath than you are when salvaging the staircase.

• 9

  Pull out all the pieces, and take them outside to a dumpster, a give-away pile or a bonfire.