I am building a 24’x16′ deck with 36″ railings. Can I place the railing posts on top of the deck with metal inserts which are 40″ long. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Dutch
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Yes, you can build the railing on top of the deck. But I don't understand your 40" inserts. Is that going to be like a piece of allthread rod goign from the top of the post trhough the decking?
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
They are 40" steel inserts that are mounted on the deck and 4x4 composite sleeve slides over the insert. Do I need to reinforce the underside for xtra support? Thanks FastEddie
If all you're relying on to hold the railing in place is a rod screwed to the decking, it'll never meet the 200# load test required by the codes (not to mention being unsafe in general). There's been a number of reports lately on deck failures, and most are due to either poor connection to the house, or poor railing connection. I'd tie it into the structure below.
Bob
It's actually a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 steel insert which fits snugly inside the sleeve and gets mounted with 4 bolts to the deck. I was thinking of reinforcing w/ longer bolts and 2x6 underneath. Let me know what you think. Thanks Dutch
I'd definitely look at having more than 4 bolts in the decking holding it down. You'd essentially be transfering the load from the bolts into deck board, which would either rip/crack at the bolt location, or pull off completely if the nails/screws holding the deck board to the framing couldn't resist the loading (since the board would transfer the load to it's fasteners).
Bob
Thanks for your input, Dutch
Might work, but you'd probably have to do like a boat builder and have some way to transfer the load from the deck boards to some adjacent structure. Which might could be some steel angle back to the rim joist.
That, might just be as much work as just adding a solid header or other structure under the deck to bolt to, too.
Where are these bases to install (in general) in relationship to the edge of the deck boards, and the rim and/or support joists? You might just need some "squash" blocks to carry the bolts to the joists that are there.
Oh, one last thing before committing to any one strategy--sit down by the stairs & their railings (the joints back to the wall, too) and carefully think out how & where the stair railings have to start, stop, & join up. Not that this has 'burned' me a a time or two or anything like it <g> . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
The bases are 3 inches off the edge and in between rim joist and joists. They would be bolted thru the steelplate and the 2x6. Can you follow what I'm saying, anyway thank you for your help. Dutch
Ok, that's the steel base, then deck surface, and then into a 2x6. Are these to be bolted or lag screwed?
That 200# rule can be cruel to "elegant" post installations.
Is there a web page for the bases, so maybe we could look them up?Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
CapnMac they're going to be bolted and the steel inserts are sold at Lowe's. I will try and see if they have a Website. I also checked w/ a fence co. in my area and they do installations using this method. Thanks for your interest. Dutch
Edited 11/9/2005 8:43 am ET by dutch46
No way i would screw a flange to the top of a deck board and expect it to carry the handrail load. Bolting through the deck boards into something solid, using nuts & bolts rather than screws, would be a big improvement.
Is there a web page that shows the brackets?
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
FastEddie check CapnMac's reply, I'll look to see if they have a Website. Tnx Dutch