How to fit a handrail: the height, brackets and plugs
Updated: 23 October 2026
You have a screwed stair rail or a short grab rail, a drill, and a wall you think is brick. The usual failures are a height taken from the landing, brackets left too far apart, and masonry plugs driven into plasterboard. This is how to fit a handrail when the fixing is screws. The twelve products are on the [handrail comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/handrail). The Products Compared editorial team used maker notes and the amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have a screwed stair rail or a short grab rail, a drill, and a wall you think is brick. The usual failures are a height taken from the landing, brackets left too far apart, and masonry plugs driven into plasterboard.
You have a screwed stair rail or a short grab rail, a drill, and a wall you think is brick. The usual failures are a height taken from the landing, brackets left too far apart, and masonry plugs driven into plasterboard. This is how to fit a handrail when the fixing is screws. The twelve products are on the handrail comparison. The Products Compared editorial team used maker notes and the amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Fixing | Stated length | Surface or wall | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  supregear supregear 50 cm stainless grab rail | Screws | 50 cm | Drilled fixing; indoor/outdoor in the title | 9.2 | about £22.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  QWORK QWORK 66 cm outdoor step rail | Wall screws | 66 cm | Wood, tile, and concrete claimed; pebble-dash had to be removed in one review | 8.8 | about £25.98 | View offer |
| Alternative |  LIANTRAL LIANTRAL 3 m black stair handrail | Wall brackets and screws | 3 m | Wood, brick, concrete, and plaster claimed by the seller | 8.4 | about £28.99 | View offer |
On this page
Draw the line from the nosings
Find the pitch line first. It is the sloping line that joins the nosings of the treads, not the landing floor and not a horizontal line off the bottom step. Mark the height at several nosings so the rail follows the flight. One mark at the landing, then a straightedge down the wall, puts the rail high at the bottom or low at the top.
In England, Approved Document K paragraph 1.34 puts the handrail 900–1000 mm above the pitch line. In Scotland, Domestic Technical Handbook clause 4.3.15 (January 2025) asks for at least 840 mm and not more than 1.0 m. In Northern Ireland, Technical Booklet H paragraphs 3.24–3.27 use 900–1000 mm. Those three bands cannot share one pencil line. Wales has its own documents, and this page does not quote a Welsh figure.
Richard Burbidge's bracket guide marks about 850 mm up from the pitch line. That is a fitting note, not Approved Document K. Do not pencil 850 mm and call it the regulation.
Space the brackets
Bracket spacing in the sources we used is maker guidance, not a sentence in Approved Document K. Richard Burbidge puts end brackets about 30 cm in from the ends and intermediate brackets no more than 1 m apart. Staircraft's domestic wall-handrail note puts end brackets no more than 250 mm from the ends and intermediates no more than 1 m, with masonry screws after a ply packer on blockwork. A sensible reading of both is ends about 250–300 mm in, and gaps of about 1 m or less. Call that maker guidance.
The Stiley brass kit, 3.6 m in three 1.2 m tubes, arrives with two wall brackets and two connecting brackets. Two wall fixings on 3.6 m leave a longer gap than Staircraft's no more than 1 m. Offer the rail up before you commit the holes. On LIANTRAL's 3 m kit, leave the clamps loose until the brackets face the same way, then tighten.
Fix the wall you actually have
Drill only after you know the substrate and after you have checked for pipes and cables. Stiley's PDF specifies an 8 mm masonry drill and says the supplied plugs are for solid walls only. It tells you not to fit the rail to a plasterboard partition. A masonry plug in plasterboard will spin or pull out when someone leans. If you cannot tell brick from board, stop.
Xyxu's only review, labelled United Kingdom, says the supplied screws are short and the plastic plugs are basic for a bannister pull. Choose fixings for the wall you have, even when the box looks complete. LIANTRAL's seller claims wood, brick, concrete, and plaster, which is wider than Stiley's masonry limit. Treat plaster on a bullet as a claim to test, not as permission.
Load it, then stop if you should
When the rail is tight, push and pull along the line of use before anyone depends on it. A bracket that rocks, a plug that turns, or a tube that slips in a connector is a fail at the wall, not a reason to lean harder. The stated kilograms on these listings are seller figures. They are not a substitute for that check, and they are not a BS 6180 test we watched. Suction cups are outside this sequence. If that is the product in your hand, leave the drill in the box and read suction or fixed grab rail before you decide the bath can do without screws.
Common questions
Where do I measure the height from?
From the pitch line through the nosings, at several points up the flight, not from the landing floor. England uses 900–1000 mm in Approved Document K 1.34. Scotland uses at least 840 mm and not more than 1.0 m in clause 4.3.15. Northern Ireland uses 900–1000 mm in Booklet H. A Burbidge mark of about 850 mm is maker guidance inside those bands, not the regulation itself.
How far apart should the brackets be?
Maker notes, not Approved Document K: about 250–300 mm from the ends, and no more than about 1 m between brackets, following Burbidge and Staircraft. The Stiley brass kit includes two wall brackets for 3.6 m, which is a wider gap than that 1 m note. Confirm the rail sits on the line before you drill the second hole.
Can I use the plugs on plasterboard?
Stiley's instructions say the plugs are for solid masonry and the rail should not go on a plasterboard partition. A plug in board will not take a pull the way a plug in brick does. A ply packer in Staircraft's note is a construction detail, not a repair for a finished partition. If the wall is hollow and you cannot add structure, do not drill these plugs in and hope.
What did buyers struggle with on the kits in this set?
LIANTRAL reviewers had to leave brackets loose so they faced the same way, and one measured the tube at just over 2 cm against a 2.5 cm claim. A Stiley brass buyer stopped because the wall was uneven and the screw points were fixed, and another found the end caps awkward. Xyxu's single UK review called the screws short and the plugs basic. QWORK needed pebble-dash removed before a bracket sat flat.
When should a fitter take over?
When the wall is plasterboard or unknown, when services may be buried, when a failure would injure the person who needs the rail, or when the stair needs building-control approval. Also stop if the only product you have is a suction cup and someone expects it to take body weight. That decision is not a drilling shortcut.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings captured 19 October 2026. Updated 22 October 2026.
- Approved Document K (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Scottish Domestic Technical Handbook, January 2025 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Northern Ireland Technical Booklet H (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- BS 6180:2011 extract (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Workplace regulation 12 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Approved Document M FAQ (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Suffolk County Council (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Stiley handrail instructions (retrieved 22.10.2026)