"Caps" Frequently Asked Questions
There is a wide range of styles available for stair caps which can be used to suit any design style. Some of the common styles include:
•Ball: A solid wooden sphere at the top of the post.
•Pyramid: Typically found of modern balustrades, they offer a clean and simple finish to a square topped newel post.
•Modern: Newel caps that integrate metal such as chrome or brushed nickel and usually combined with oak, pine, or white-primed wood.
•Flat: These are available in wood or metal and add a clean finish to the top of a newel post. The 82mm pine flat newel cap is a great cost effective choice to complete a modern newel post.
In general, turned newel caps (such as ball or acorn caps) tend to look better on turned posts and caps with a square base (such as pyramid or flat caps) look best on chamfered or square newel posts.
•Ball: A solid wooden sphere at the top of the post.
•Pyramid: Typically found of modern balustrades, they offer a clean and simple finish to a square topped newel post.
•Modern: Newel caps that integrate metal such as chrome or brushed nickel and usually combined with oak, pine, or white-primed wood.
•Flat: These are available in wood or metal and add a clean finish to the top of a newel post. The 82mm pine flat newel cap is a great cost effective choice to complete a modern newel post.
In general, turned newel caps (such as ball or acorn caps) tend to look better on turned posts and caps with a square base (such as pyramid or flat caps) look best on chamfered or square newel posts.
As with newel posts, oak, hemlock and pine are among the most popular choices of material for stair caps, either combined with metal or wood only.
Flat and pyramid newel caps are also available in chrome and nickel for a super-sleek finish. However, they do attract fingerprints so need cleaning more often than wood newel caps.
A newel cap sits on top of the newel post and provides a decorative end to the vertical post. Without a newel cap, the post would end as a cube and look rather dull. That’s why newel caps are added to include a sense of style to the balustrade and make it stand out. As a bonus, they’ll also act as a handhold for those who need to hold on when starting to climb the stairs!