I need help with rail height, tr. wood post spacing, and posssible detail options on 5/32 horizontal wire railing.
I don’t know the brand, but I ordered 600 feet of it for a deck that is 14′ out from the house and about 49′ long. Basicallly a rectangle on the second story, running the whole length of the house.
The tightening mechinism on the wire mounts to the inside of the post and is tightened at each end with a compression fitting connected to allthread. Three wood screws hold a small circular plate to the post where the allthread terminates.
The guy at the local hardware store (not box) said 9 runs with 3” spacing is fairly common.
He talked about mounting two posts near each outside corner of the deck so that one continous wire could pass through for each horizontal run (78′). The wire would pass through one post and turn 45 degrees and pass through the next post on each of the two outside corners, eliminating the need for extra brackets(compression/tightening fitting) that are costly.
And with the wire deflection how far would you recommend the post spacing be?
This is my folks home. I tore off the old rotted one with no treated lumber and replaced with the same dimensions of the old one. 2’by10 treated joists 16” O.C. with composite decking
I’ve never built a deck or a railing per se, so any tips or options would be appreciated.
Replies
Greetings fossil,
This post, in response to your question, will bump the thread through the 'recent discussion' listing again.
Perhaps it will catch someones attention that can help you with advice.
Cheers
'Nemo me impune lacesset'
No one will provoke me with impunity
Before doing this, you may want to check with your inspector. The IRC (2000 edition) in section R316.2 deals with "required guards on open sides of stairways, raised floor areas, balconies, and porches", and says "required guards shall not be constructed with horizontal rails or other ornamental pattern that results in a ladder effect". Obviously, they don't want little kids to either fall thru the openings or just climb over. I note that "decks" aren't specifically mentioned here, and whether they are included under "raised floor areas" or not, I don't know. And I'm not a pro, so all this might be wrong, but it sounds worth checking before you do the whole installation.
R and Raz, thanks for the bump and heads up.I thought no one out there wanted to talk about deck rails this time of year. I guess not many do. Our local ski area received 100 inches of snow in the past 5 days.As far as the ladder effect of the wire, I can see the problems with kids. However, I looked at three different decks in the area with same horizontal wire. These were all nearer to the ground than the one in question.I know most, if not all, people here ( at this site) frown on no permits and inspections, but this deck was unsafe when the house was purchased with rotten untreated wood throughout.I'm just replacing what was there, and at the request of the home owners, ( my folks) changing the railing.They are willing to suffer the inspectors wrath if he/she ever comes over. A friend has a home built on the lake with a horizontal wire rail on the second story leaning outward 5-15 degrees. I think he went through proper inspection channels and passed.I would aslk him, but figured someone here would have similar experience or a different point of view.
I wouldn't do this one without a permit or consultation with the inspector. The issue is not so much getting caught. This is a second floor balcony from what you described. I would worry that someone might get hurt or worse, in any number of ways, and not necessarily because of the ladder effect. This could even happen after they sell the house. If any subsequent investigation reveals that you and/or your folks did it and purposely avoided permit/inspection, and it doesn't meet local requirements, you are looking at huge liability that homeowners insurance will not cover. Not a smart thing to do.
DG/Builder
Talking with the inspector first is a good idea.
But I've seen the ladder effect handled by having the hand rail or top of the rail extend inwards towards the area one would be standing on - thereby making it hard to go "up and over".
I also usually see the nfg install spec state 3" spacing with anti-spread bars or a vertical rail support every 3-4 feet. Usuall it goes, support - antispread - support, etc.
As far as post spacing is concerned, generally you'll take the dimension being railed and segment it equally with posts every 5 to 6 feet. The easiest way is to simply find the centers and align the center of your posts on the center marks. Bear in mind an inch here or there difference isn't going to be visible to all but the most discerning eye.
The ladder issue is something I'm not overly familiar with but it seems you could run your horizontals on a zig zag pattern up your posts and make it harder for little feet to climb. Just a thought...