These two treated 4x4 posts are 8 feet long, and go about 2½ feet into the ground. I purposely used extra-long posts here, knowing that any post for a stair handrail will likely be a bit longer than ordinary posts for "flat" or horizontal handrails.

Click here to read about building the stairs and the installation of the posts shown above.

I measured 34 degrees above horizontal.

Tips On Measuring Angles:

If you are even slightly confused about why the angle is measure on the vertical edge, I don't blame you. I have an engineering degree, most of a math degree, and a decade of experience working with carpentry, and sometimes I still get turned around when measuring angles.

Here's how I visualize it... It's kinda goofy:

Imagine the picture above, but the speed-square is rotated until the left-hand edge is all the way against the post. I align the pivot heel at the point where the red line meets the left edge of the post (i.e. the red line seen in the picture below). That's my starting point. (I know... I should take a picture to explain this...)

When the speed-square is in this starting position, the vertical edge of the post is aligned with the zero degree mark. That means that the bottom edge of the triangle is zero degrees above horizontal.

Now I rotate the speed-square, keeping the pivot heel against the end of that red line. I imagine the lower edge of the speed square is a cannon, and I'm ordering the gunner to raise the cannon skyward. As the gunner tilts the speed-square counter-clockwise, I call out the angle that the "cannon" has reached, because I'm looking at the marks that align with the left edge of the post. When the lower edge finally aligns perfectly with the red line, the gunner stops and I read the angle, in this case 34 degrees.

That means that my red line is 34 degrees above horizontal. The line is also 56 degrees from vertical, because 90 degrees (a right angle) minus 34 degrees is 56 degrees. It is REALLY EASY to get a  wrong measurement if you hold the speed-square the wrong way. That's why I go through the whole cannon-elevation silliness, I can see the rotation of the "cannon" as it goes from horizontal (if that's the reference "line" that I want) up to the line that I've drawn.

One of these days I'll write an entire article about tips and techniques for measuring angles.

Then I made a mark one inch higher than the nose line. This will be the bottom of the handrail. The bottom of my handrail should be one inch above the nose of the stair steps.

King-Sized Mistakes:

Monarch's instructions say "Make sure the minimum spacing allowed by local code (4") from the nose of the stair tread to the bottom of the rail is maintained." Yes, their instructions say minimum... but you should know that the building codes are concerned with MAXIMUM openings around handrails.

Unless the codes have been totally revised, the requirement is that the triangle-shaped area below a stair handrail shall not allow a ball or sphere to pass through that is greater than 6 inches in diameter.

The space between balusters or under a railing cannot pass a ball or sphere that is greater than 4 inches in diameter. This rule would be very difficult to maintain for the triangular opening below a stair handrail, so the codes make an exception.

I marked 32½ inches above the previous mark, to indicate the top of the handrail.

This mark is 42½" above the step, but this dimension could be different for other handrail situations.

This should work fine.

Actually, I cut these posts about ½" higher than the mark shown two photos back, because the post cap needs that much wood protruding beyond the sleeve. Alternatively, I could have cut the sleeve a half-inch shorter.

Then I slipped the sleeves over the posts.

Then I realized I missed something...

It's also good to have this dimension equal to the last-hole-to-bottom-end distance.

I didn't have such luck, and I didn't have the patience to figure it out.

Note that the retainer (which is part of the top rail) did not need to have the holes re-drilled at an angle. That's because the retainer is quite thin, while the bottom rail is about 1½" thick.

The L-brackets provided won't work for angled railings. Monarch's instructions mention some special-order brackets for stair railings, but I wasn't willing to wait up to a week to get them.

And there was another problem. I was planning to use one handrail section for two short angled stair rail sections. But I needed 8 mounting brackets, and I only had 4.

Then I clamped the metal bracket between the block and a workbench.

Actually, I initially used a block of wood as a buffer, placing the wood against the metal and beating on the wood. As I got close to the desired angle I didn't use the wood.

I adjusted the depth of cut to ¼ inch.

This is very tricky because the base (or "foot") of the Rotozip tool is so big that there is very little base to rest against the piece being cut. I had to be super-alert to always keep some part of the base in contact with the handrail end.

This could also be done with a file.

I used a #6 Vix bit to pre-drill the pilot holes, and #6 x ½" stainless steel sheet metal screws to attach the aluminum clip.

On the upper ends, the original two screws almost poked through (into the inner void). Not wanting these screws to pull out, I added a third screw at a lower position where there was more material to bite into.

I used flat-head screws here and I tilted the drill so it was parallel to the balusters.

At this end I also angled the drill so it would be parallel with the balusters.

I placed the bracket against the post and pre-drilled the holes and drove in the lag screws. Note how the upper lag screw was angled.

I could have just drilled on the pencil marks, without using the brackets as a guide. That would have allowed me to drive both lag screws in straight... although I would've had to use a wrench for the top lag.

This bracket should be made about an inch taller.

I secured the clip temporarily with duct tape.

For the upper post it was easy to secure the clip with 1" long stainless steel sheet metal screws.

Then I realized that I could just remove the post sleeve. I pre-drilled the holes using a Vix bit.

They were a royal pain in the neck to install, but they look good now.

If I was asked to do another set of stair handrails with Monarch synthetic railing, I would charge at least 8 hours of labor for one pair, regardless of size. This should be a 2 or 3 hour job, but Monarch's design makes it difficult.