In my previous post, I promised to provide an update on how my plan worked for using a threaded rod to anchor a newel post.

Overall, my plan worked, but not without some minor nuisances that always seem to happen in a home improvement project. I drilled a hole through the upstairs floor tile to accommodate the threaded rod I had epoxied into the bottom of the newel post. I shoved the rod into the hole then trekked down to the basement. Darn! The threaded rod was too close to the joist to install the large fender washer I had wanted to install. And after reviewing the situation a little closer, I decided to add some blocking to allow me to keep as much length on the threaded rod as possible. I figured this would provide more stability for the post.

You can view and download the SketchUp model that illustrates what I did.

So I spend about a half hour cutting up some scraps of plywood to add as blocking under the post. After gluing and screwing the blocking to the joists on either side of the rod, I installed a washer, split locking washer, then a nut and carefully tightened it down. I had some help upstairs to keep the post from twisting while I tightened the nut.

It worked as planned. The newel post was solid and the customer was happy. All I had to do was glue the handrail back in place.