Got any deck railing ideas?

[harpo1]

I'm at the point with my new deck that I need to decide on a style of railing. Does anybody have any pics of deck railing they wouldn't mind sharing? I'm thinking about using the 5/4" deck boards as a top rail. Has anybody done this and how has it worked out. Thanks!

[wally-eye]

I have about 30 ft of deck on the front of the house facing the river. The top rail is made with 5/4. The only issue is that a couple of the cut ends are starting to warp just slightly but the rest is nice and stable.....been up for at least 6 years so its ok so far........

[harpo1]

The warping issue is exactly what I'm concerned about.

[Sling]

deck railings are a real PITA when its time to stain / wash

[jpollman]

Personally, I'd stick with a 2x6 instead of a 5/4. It's going to be much beefier and hold up better. The railing On my deck is made from a 2x6 top and two vertical 2x4's attached to the 4x4 posts. The ballusters are made of 1/2" aluminum rod that are set into holes drilled into the 2x4's. They're powder coated a nice emerald green and look very nice. The only thing I need to stain are the 2x's which is fairly easy and not as big of a pain in the butt as it is to stain each individual balluster. I've had these things up for 7-8 years and they still look great!

If you're interested in a picture let me know and I'll post one.

John

[SPITFIRE]

I'm at the point with my new deck that I need to decide on a style of railing. Does anybody have any pics of deck railing they wouldn't mind sharing? I'm thinking about using the 5/4" deck boards as a top rail. Has anybody done this and how has it worked out. Thanks!
how about this?
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/picture_0148.jpg

[jpollman]

Thanks Spitfire, now I don't have to upload a photo. That's my railing right there. ;)

John

[autumnlovr]

We went with a small deck on our place up north but opted for wrap-around seating.
http://inlinethumb61.webshots.com/15868/2006934430048545109S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2006934430048545109rMDCdF)

http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/8006/2222018560048545109S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2222018560048545109eSAngi)

http://inlinethumb50.webshots.com/15601/2366203070048545109S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2366203070048545109NAQyYj)

Wow, I just noticed, these pics are from before we finished it. We've got lattice work around the bottom now (backed by hardware cloth to keep the critters out). And, yes, we do have a little warping on the top that'll be fixed this year.

[harpo1]

Thanks for the pics! Those are both beautiful decks. Had to stop into work for a couple hours this morning but I'm heading to HD and Lowes after I get done to check out some things.

[bigcountrysg]

I would do what your wanting to do if it was me. I will get some pictures of my deck today for you and post them up for ya.

[swampbuck]

There are a lot of decks on Higgins Lake with plexi or tempered glass panels instead of spindles,to preserve the view. Cedar log railing and spindles are cool also. Really depends on the style and location of you house, If its important how it looks

[Greenbush future]

There are a lot of decks on Higgins Lake with plexi or tempered glass panels instead of spindles,to preserve the view. Cedar log railing and spindles are cool also. Really depends on the style and location of you house, If its important how it looks


Plexi is awsome looking, but very expensive.

[Craig M]

Here's how I did mine.... For whatever reason I can't get the full size pic to display...

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/thumbs/p9150001.JPG

[autumnlovr]

Here ya go Craig

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/500/medium/p9150001.JPG

[wartfroggy]

Like the angled ballisters, but that's gotta be a PITA to get those spaced proper.

[Craig M]

Thanks autumnlovr!

wartfroggy - Acutally it was very easy. I just took a section of leftover 4x4 and put 45 degree cuts on the end and walla! I hade me a spacer that will be at the correct angle and spacing and meets code of 3 1/2 in gaps. I kept the herrigbone illusion going through the 4x4's just by scribing a line on the posts. The railing went really fast.

On a side note, I'm never going to do another herringbone pattern again. Lots of waste if you don't measure right, which of course, I didn't.:rant::lol:

[jpollman]

Like the angled ballisters, but that's gotta be a PITA to get those spaced proper.


No not really. Once you get the angle you want, just make up a jig and it's not bad at all. Even when I do vertical ballusters I use a jig. That way I know that when the inspector shows up I don't have to worry about the spacing.

John

[Freestone]

In hindsight I wish I would have used all composite for my deck, especially the handrail. Even if it meant building a smaller deck to fit in the budget. Powerwashing and staining a wood deck is a lot of work and expensive.

[SPITFIRE]

In hindsight I wish I would have used all composite for my deck, especially the handrail. Even if it meant building a smaller deck to fit in the budget. Powerwashing and staining a wood deck is a lot of work and expensive.
For the record the pic I posted earlier only took me an hour to spray 800 sq feet, with mold and mildew remover and hose off. thats the wonderfull thing with trex type material,now I can spend the rest of the summer enjoying it and not working on it ;). I will never go back to real wood decks.I have had it for 5 years now and im very happy with it.

[harpo1]

Thanks - those are all great looking decks, and I really like the angled spindles Craig. When (and if) the rain ever stops, I'm definitely ready to get going on some of these idea's. I also picked up some low-voltage lighting that I want to incorporate into at least the stair risers if not part of the rail also.

[Craig M]

Thanks - those are all great looking decks, and I really like the angled spindles Craig. When (and if) the rain ever stops, I'm definitely ready to get going on some of these idea's. I also picked up some low-voltage lighting that I want to incorporate into at least the stair risers if not part of the rail also.

Thank you for the compliment. I spent a lot of time driving around and taking pictures of other decks and looking through books for design elements. As for lighting, I did add low voltage lighting under the hand rails and the soft lighting makes it really nice when sitting on the deck having a few at night. Right now, I'm thinking of building a pergola over a part of the deck to create a little shade. My deck is on the west side of the house and it gets brutal sitting out there on a hot sunny afternoon. If anyone has some architectural experience, I would love to talk to them to help figure out how to design it.

[Wendy]

For the record, the composite decking still require maintenance. They tend to have issues with mold and have to be bleached and cleaned on a regular basis.

I love the DeKorator railings, you can get anything from glass to flat steel spindels.

http://www.deckorators.com/

[harpo1]

....Right now, I'm thinking of building a pergola over a part of the deck to create a little shade. My deck is on the west side of the house and it gets brutal sitting out there on a hot sunny afternoon. If anyone has some architectural experience, I would love to talk to them to help figure out how to design it.

My neighbor did something similar to a pergola. He built a basic frame structure, but then he bought this heavy black mesh-type material and stretched it over the top. I was pretty skeptical about when he was explaining it to me but it is amazing stuff and looks awesome now that I've seen it in person. If I can get some pics I will post them

[Craig M]

Please post them or email them to me (my email is current in my profile). I was thinking of latice pannels for the side walls but lattice seems to sag after a couple of years so I'm not sure what I want to do.

[harpo1]

Please post them or email them to me (my email is current in my profile). I was thinking of latice pannels for the side walls but lattice seems to sag after a couple of years so I'm not sure what I want to do.

I will see if i can get some photo's. The mesh I am talking about is very similar to the stuff they use for trampolines. Just thin enough that you can still see through it somewhat, but yet a tight enough weave to stop rain from coming through. It's pretty amazing stuff.

[Burksee]

I'm at the point with my new deck that I need to decide on a style of railing. Does anybody have any pics of deck railing they wouldn't mind sharing? I'm thinking about using the 5/4" deck boards as a top rail. Has anybody done this and how has it worked out. Thanks!Our deck is going on 12 years old and is great shape, I used 5x4 on the top of the rails, thought it would be more "beverage holder" friendly than a 2x4 and not so bulky looking as a 2x6. Anyhow, I started with 4x4 posts about 4ft apart, ran a 2x4 (4" side down) on top of the 4x4's and mounted my 5x4 on top of those, securing the 5x4 to the 2x4 was accomplished by going up thru the 2x4 into the 5x4 with 2" deck screws so there were no screw heads showing. It's worked out great with very little warpage. I keep my deck well cleaned and well sealed, the rest of the deck is in great shape but my 5x4 railing top has started to curl from the sides a bit the last year or two, nothing major by any means but I am thinking about replacing it, using a sawzall to cut the screws, get pieces of color matching composite 5x4 and replacing it with that. :)

BTW - I learned a lesson about posts and spindles from my BIL. Do not when mounting your spindles create any closed, boxed in areas. These become what hornets and wasps consider to be great places to build their nests! As we found out, an afternoon party on the deck with some disturbed angry hornets don't mix! :yikes:

[bloo_gilz]

Do not when mounting your spindles create any closed, boxed in areas. These become what hornets and wasps consider to be great places to build their nests!

This is a great point !
I build/tear apart/rebuild lots of decks.
One of the most popular/efficient rails is what we call a sandwich.
Very popular down here it's what a lot of deckbuilders use.
2-1x3's top & bottom w/2x2 approx. 5"oc as ballusters, btwn 4x4's w/2x6 top cap.
These rails are hornet havens !

Dekorators are awesome.
I use a LOT of these, & love them.
They look great imo & install easily with wood or composite.
(I really dig the bronze!)

Here's a rail I did with temp. glass & Dekorators

http://www.rtconstructioninc.com/sitebuilder/images/IMG_1137-255x185.jpg

A couple other jobs..
http://www.rtconstructioninc.com/sitebuilder/images/IMG_2531-255x187.jpg These 2 have 2x4's on flat w/a continuous 2x6 top cap.
http://www.rtconstructioninc.com/sitebuilder/images/DSC01514-325x435.jpg

The glass is not as expensive as most would think.
Don't get me wrong,it's not as cheap as a middle of the road wood rail by any means. But if I had a beauty house on the water that's what I'd use:D
Good-luck,
Mark

[harpo1]

This is where I'm at with it now. The short piece of 5/4" deck board on top was just setting there so I could get a feel for how it would look. Also, the posts will be cut shorter once I complete the top. Then we have some caps we are putting on them.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=393&pictureid=8720

[Craig M]

Nice job! Your going to enjoy it.

[Wendy]

Nice job!