How to Fix a Splintery Basement Handrail

The cost and trouble of replacing an old basement banister rail might not be worth it considering it’s just for the basement, but getting splinters while going up/down the stair is really annoying and painful.

I found a simple solution.  I took a left over roll of wallpaper border from one of my many home improvement projects and turned it into a banister rail cover.

Simple how to instructions:

Follow the wallpaper border installation instructions, but apply the wallpaper to the basement handrail instead of the wall.

In the photo my daughter is holding up a leftover piece of wallpaper border next to the repaired handrail.

This project has held up for five years and counting; is cleaner than paint (which tends to get ugly with continual handrail usage) and has a design that looks great for a basement banister.  And most important: Zero Splinters!