I have someone in the house that is now Handicapped. I need to build a short stair rail for two steps to a sunken living room. The railing will go from a Kneewall to a Newel Post. I'm going to use althread to anchor the post to the floor, by drilling side ways into the post, and up thru the bottom of the post. Drill through the floor and bolt it down in the basement.

The questions I have is on the Kneewall end, should I rip another Newel post in half and attach it to the Kneewall? What would be the best way to attach the Railing to the Newel Post(s)? Also I'll need a lower railing, to go from the Kneewall to the Newell, and a couple of Balasters. What is the best way to put this together for strength, and what should I use for the lower railing? BTW the Kneewall is very strong. Also I have a Tablesaw, and Power Miter Saw. I'm also familiar with doweling, as in making Doweled boxes. Thanks,

 

Midnight, Home depot has metal posts with 4 holes in the plate for lags, you can cut them to size and cap the cut end , for the rail I sanded smooth a piece of redwood and polyurethane so splinter would not be a problem. pre- drill / counter sink so the self tapping screws will be flush, then for the 4'' spindle spacing per code I used 2x2 with a 22 deg cut on the bottom I pre drilled these and screwed them on to the 2x6 rails , make sure you don't have the tip of the screws sticking out the other side of Rail. I did this on Carpet so you can slice an x or trim the Bottom out to cover the lags.
If you use the knee wall lay the board flat pre drill and screw it to the knee wall fill the holes with wood filler and stain, Regular stair hand rail would have a clip on the Bottom screwed to the hand rail and to the wall then Nailed . adding a dowel may jeopardize the Integrity of strength being on the Angle of steps unless you get it just right to center.