Picket - Stair Building Handrail Parts

Pickets are another term construction workers use for balusters. The picture below provides you with an excellent example of a stair handrailing picket (baluster). The black arrow is pointing to an individual white picket.

Where Do All Of These Crazy Construction Words Come From?

I'm only going to guess, on this one, from years and years of home building. When I first started working in construction, it was extremely confusing and I think that most of the older carpenters, "Loved it."

A toenail is often referred to as any nail that is driven in an angle, used to fasten two boards together. Every time we got a new apprentice on-the-job, someone would ask the new guy to get a box of toenails from the foreman. This would usually translate into hours of wasted time and fun for the old-timers.

There were plenty of other crafty words that carpenters used to initiate the new workers, but it usually didn't last long. I don't know where some of these ridiculous words ever came from, but they are embedded in my mind now and probably will be for a long time.

The next time someone asks you for a picket, you will have a pretty good idea, what you're looking for. However, if they ask you for a box of toe nails, simply take one of your shoes off, cut off a few of your extra toe nails, place them in a box and hand it to them.

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