Carpentry and Woodworking - installing a stair railing

The stairs going down to my basement/game room do not currently have any railings installed on the bottom 1/2 of the stairs. The top 1/2 does have a railing but it is attached directly to the wall. The bottom 1/2 has no wall on either side.

I would like to turn this area into to a play area for my kids, however, the stairs are currently a safety hazard w/no railing.

I'd like to install a simply railing w/spindles on each side. My big question is how do I anchor the bottom base/support onto the stairs. My old house had a similar installation but the base support was very loose and wobbly. I would like to avoid this problem.

The stairs are typical building grade, wood and are open underneath on the backside (through a storage room).

What is the simplest way to do this installation? Any suggestions on where to find a good set of instructions?

Thank you very much.

Scott

Install posts from the front of the bottom step up to the basement ceiling and attach the lower end of the railing system to the posts.

I would use a newel post at the bottom of the stairs and a length of handrail that you can get at any home center. You can also buy prepainted (or bare wood) standard balusters that have a 3/4" dowel on the bottom. All you have to do is drill a matching hole in the stair tread and glue it in place. You can also buy dowel screws if the baluster doesn't have a dowel on the end.

If you buy a handrail that is ploughed you won't have to drill the handrail to accept the balusters. Just cut the top of the baluster to height on an angle matching the handrail. A piece of shoe and a couple of finish nails will hold the baluster in the rail.

The toughest part of installing a railing is the layout. There are building code requirements for railing heighth and baluster spacing. Once you have that figured out it's an easy job. There is a lot of info on line about installing stair rails