• 14 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Railing

A stair railing from the side, then one section of deck railing.

Parts of a Railing

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Handrail
  2. Balusters
  3. Starting newel
  4. Volute
  5. Gooseneck
  6. Landing newel
  7. Shoe rail
  8. Fillet
  9. Rosette
  10. Rail post
  11. Post cap
  12. Cap rail
  13. Top rail
  14. Bottom rail

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the whole staircase, treads to stringers

All 14 parts on the diagram

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Stair railing 9

  1. Handrail People also say banister. That can mean the rail alone or the rail with its balusters.
  2. Balusters The upright pieces that hold up the handrail. They are also called spindles.
  3. Starting newel Newels are the large posts that anchor the handrail. This one stands on the first step.
  4. Volute The end of the handrail, curved inward like a spiral. It sits over the starting newel.
  5. Gooseneck The upright piece of handrail. It joins the sloping rail to the higher rail on the landing or balcony.
  6. Landing newel The post where the sloping rail ends. The level balcony rail begins here.
  7. Shoe rail A rail on the floor with a groove the balusters stand in. Also called a base rail.
  8. Fillet A thin strip that fills the groove of the shoe rail. It fits between one baluster and the next.
  9. Rosette A round or oval plate on the wall. The end of the handrail butts against it.

Deck railing 5

  1. Rail post The posts that carry a deck railing. Builders also say railing post.
  2. Post cap It covers the end grain at the top of the post.
  3. Cap rail Most deck railings are topped with one. It is also called a top cap.
  4. Top rail The balusters are fastened between the top rail and the bottom rail.
  5. Bottom rail It runs from post to post a little above the deck boards.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where two independent sources use it for that part. Stair railing: (1) Wikipedia, Stairs, section on the railing system, with Baluster, Handrail and Newel (text only); (2) Floyd Vogt, Carpentry (Thomson Delmar Learning, 2006), stair finish units, https://archive.org/details/carpentry0000vogt_g3o0 ; (3) NCCER, Carpentry, the stairs module (Pearson), https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780131025936 ; (4) National Construction Estimator 2007 (Craftsman Book Company), stair parts price list, https://archive.org/details/2007nationalcons00dave . Deck railing: (5) Scott Schuttner, Building a Deck (Taunton Press), https://archive.org/details/buildingdeckexpe0000schu ; (6) Sunset, Complete Deck Book, https://archive.org/details/completedeckbook0000cory ; (7) Ultimate Guide: Decks (Creative Homeowner), https://archive.org/details/ultimateguidedec0000unse_b3h6 . Sources 2 to 7 were read through archive.org's full-text search (passages, not whole pages). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a stair railing and the parts of a deck railing, in two drawings. The stair railing is the kind whose handrail runs over its posts, so it shows the fittings: volute, gooseneck and rosette.

Read the full guide

Parts of a staircase railing, from the first step up

The handrail starts in a volute over the starting newel, climbs over the balusters, and turns up at the gooseneck to reach the landing newel. Along the landing the balusters stand in a shoe rail, with a fillet between each pair, and the rail ends at a rosette on the wall.

A deck railing

Two rail posts carry a top rail and a bottom rail, and the balusters are fastened between the two. A cap rail lies flat on top, and a post cap covers the top of each post.

  • Shopping for the parts of a handrail? Volutes and goosenecks are sold as fittings, separate from the straight rail.
  • Balustrade is the name for the whole system of handrail and balusters.

Questions and answers

What are the vertical parts of a railing called?

Balusters. They are the slim uprights that hold up the handrail, and they are also called spindles; deck builders sometimes say pickets. The thicker posts at the ends are newels on a staircase and rail posts on a deck.

What are the parts of a banister?

Banister can mean the handrail alone or the handrail with its balusters. The whole system of rail and balusters is a balustrade, and the large posts that anchor it are newels.

What is the curled end of a handrail called?

A volute. The handrail curves inward like a spiral and sits over the starting newel on the first step. A turnout is a simpler fitting that swings the rail to one side without the full spiral.

What is a gooseneck on a stair railing?

The upright piece of handrail at the top of a flight. It joins the sloping rail to the higher, level rail on the landing or balcony.

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