Repairing a Safety Issue

I noticed the bracket on the handrail at the top of the stair had broken. The thing snapped in half. This is dangerous at most of us hang on to the handrail tightly. Kit Kat has already cut her hand a few times on the sharp edges. The top of the handrail is no longer stable.

Was going to let the handyman fix this. But he takes a while to come. So I decided to do it myself. Tried to unscrew the base from the wall. The screws had a weird star pattern. I had some screwdrivers with this type of head. They were too small. Luckily Little Kat had a bit that matched the size.

Momoko drove me to Lowes. I went straight to hardware. A company rep took me directly to where these brackets were. It cost a couple bucks. Luckily these new screws had a Phillips screwdriver head. They were also shorter than the old ones (much easier to screw into the wall).

Momoko held the handrail in the air while I screwed in the base. Then I screwed the clamp into the handrail, connecting the top piece of the bracket to the handrail. Safety issue mitigated. No need for any rework. This thing feels secure now.