Building Stair Railings On Deck

Building a railing by yourself doesn t have to be difficult.

Building stair railings on deck.

Wood stairs and stair railings deck stair basics. Stair railing and balusters diy deck stairs handrails measure up the posts to the railing height minus 1 1 2 inches and mark the posts. Things you ll need 4x4 posts 1x3s or similar wood for the rails 2x2 balusters long thin strips of wood a drill and drill bits screws pencil carpenter s level clamps hammer saw sandpaper electrical cord carpenter s tri square. The usual technique is to bolt it to the stair stringers the frame.

Learn the details in how to build a. Mark kranenburg walks you through how to construct a simple wood deck rail on a deck and down a set of stairs. Notice that the top cap terminates into the rail post at the same height as the deck guardrail. Consequently according to the structure of your deck you can either anchor the posts on the floor using post anchors or you can fasten them to the deck joists using lag screws.

Determine the location of your bottom step. This deck already has wood decking and deck railings installed. Install the 2x4 or 2x6 rail cap over the top rail. The bottom post is the toughest post to make solid when you build outdoor stair railings.

Now lay the first 2 by 4 on the flat top of the third and fasten it to the posts and the third 2 by 4 with screws. How to build a deck. 125 pound uniform load per linear foot applied horizontally or vertically to the railing. Preparing to install deck stair railings before building and installing deck stair railings we have to attach the deck posts on the deck surface.

Pre drill and screw the ends of the top cap into the rail posts and secure the center with additional screws. The railing must be strong enough to resist the following loads. With one of our railing kits or a custom built solution using kee klamp pipe fittings it s possible to build a railing in just a few hours many of or customers have assembled railings in less than 30 minutes without having any prior building experience. Deck railing code the international residential code irc adopted by most us cities and towns requires 36 in high deck railings for decks more than 30 in.

An important step in building deck step railing is to stiffen up posts at the bottom of outdoor stairs or deck railings by bolting them on three sides.