Question about building a cedar railing
Hello!
I’ve searched for the last hour in discussions but haven’t found what I’m looking for. Doing a remodel (lifted my house, put new front porch, garage, back deck, etc . . . . siding crew is finishing siding and will paint soon!) . . . . I still need to build all the railings and due to refinancing I HAVE to have this finished soon (appraiser to come and needs to see finished outside).
I’m using clear cedar, most of which has already been factory stained and the rest I’ll have to stain myself (thank god all 350 pickets are pre-stained!). I plan on using 5/4 x4 material to sandwich the 2×2’s on the bottom and top, with a 2×6 cap rail. Posts will be 4×4 and for most of the areas be attached to the outside of the rim. Few questions . . . . . can I use a brad nailer to attach all the pickets to the 5/4 material (will brad nails hold up in weather or do I have to do the labor and screw each piece together)? Also, I’ve read that if you use 4×4 posts you shouldn’t notch them at all to lap over the top of the deck, just bolt them straight to the outside of the rim? There is alot of railing to be built and the thought of using a brad nailer to attach pickets and not notching the posts will cut down a ton of time for me, but as I’m spending 3K on cedar for this project I also want to build it the “right way”! Any help would be awesome!! Thanks!!
Replies
fasteners that light will not hold for long, but you could use glue and the brads to get it up fast, then go back to add screws after appraisal
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I see that your profile has no information...so I''ll add the following comment without knowing where you live.
I live in a mixed-humid climate with more than 40" of rain a year and cedar doesn't fair well with water and rot unless is very well ventilated for quick drying.
The notching of 4x4 post usually ends up with a circumstance that would allow failure under the impact standards for safety railings. But placing the 4x4's on the outside of the box sill will give you a big "GAP" that doesn't look right.
Move the posts to the inside and box the joists around the 4x's and then the bottom rail will set above the deck and look better. Do not route/groove the bottom rail to accept the ballusters as it will hold water and debris thus promoting rot.
Use a flat topped bottom rail with a single S/S screw through the bottom rail into the ballister. Pre-assemble each section between each pair of posts on the top of the deck and then set into position.
Send us some pics as you go along.......Iron Helix
I used SS finish nails (2 on top-2 on bottom)and PL Premium. On some of my railings I used SS finish srews and PL Premium. Just a lil' dab'll do ya of the PL Premium(top and bottom)
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"Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit". abbie
"Give them what they want" abbie
Edited 10/25/2008 8:14 pm ET by AbbieHoffman
Edited 10/25/2008 8:15 pm ET by AbbieHoffman
Thanks for the replies!! I'm in Seattle, WA by the way and get a decent amount of rain. I'm trying to attach some pictures of the house (before and current) hopefully they will turn out. I've never remodeled before and am being my own general and doing most the work myself . . . what a learning experience!
The SS nails . . . what size do you use and can you use a certain nail gun (ie faster than my hammering)? I'm assuming this is a much larger nail than a small brad nail. I also hopefully attached a drawing of the hopeful railing, though it says I'm using composite as the cap rail and that's not true, it will be a 2x6 cedar. I would love to do the 2x4 bottom and top rail idea instead of the 5/4x4 sandwiching idea, but that's the material I can get a good deal on and it's already stained (lumber yard bought it for someone who ended up not getting it). If I have to use screws to attach everything I'll just suck it up and spend the long hours to do it the first time round vs glue and little nails, but if the SS one's will work with the PL Premium glue you mentioned I'll do that!
The post idea of placing the posts on the inside of the rim between the joists won't work either unfortunately, as my stupid engineer decided I needed a deck that would withstand the house falling on top of it (It's 4x12 material all the way around, and in between, with 2x8 material placed every 16" on center between that (see pic). I died when I had to pay for it, as well as lift the fricking 4x12x20 up in the air!! Cost to change the plans and make a "real" deck as well as time with the city to approve the change made me follow her stupid plan. After the framing from hell was built I used the timbertech composite material for the planks (can you tell why I'm out of money at this point?!).
Thanks again for the help and ideas!!!!
Sorry, I'm not sure how to downsize the pics. I've got the before and after front shot, as well as a few pics of the back deck and a scan of the proposed rail