99_XC600 Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 I have a deck on the back of the house which I'll be putting a railing on next week. One side of the deck is 9'. From what I've been reading is that the spacing between posts should be about 6'. But that would leave me with a railing of 3' wide. Which I think would look odd. Should I split the difference and have a post every 4.5' or just run a single length of 9' between posts? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyMcGrath Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 Split it and make everything symmetrical. 6' would be a minimum span for your railing. Not a requirement, more of a suggestion. Also, always check any local building codes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 1 hour ago, RickyMcGrath said: Split it and make everything symmetrical. 6' would be a minimum span for your railing. Not a requirement, more of a suggestion. Also, always check any local building codes. On the deck I just built, we just split the difference. Any span under 6' will be fine. It will look better as a 4.5' span and will be rock solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazzman Posted April 12, 2016 Report Share Posted April 12, 2016 I agree with the above,split the difference. Not only will it be stronger but it will look nicer and if it were me aesthetics are important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted April 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2016 Sounds good. I'll split it and post the pictures next week. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james mims Posted April 13, 2016 Report Share Posted April 13, 2016 we use a 2x4 as a spacer with 1.5x1.5 spindle looks nice and always have a chunk layin around lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james mims Posted April 13, 2016 Report Share Posted April 13, 2016 o ya 6 ft gap lol forgot that part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted April 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 Day One Spent Saturday ripping up some of the rotten deck boards and a couple of others where the posts would be placed. Once that was all done, Took a trip to HD to pick up the supplies. HD only had 8' posts. I know Lowes had 6' posts, but I didn't feel like driving over there with a loaded truck and spend another 45 minutes in the store to get them. So needless to say, they were a little long. Managed to get all the posts set and the decking down along with all the trim rings installed before the day ended. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruton Posted April 17, 2016 Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 Nothing like a Sam Adams to reward yourself for a nice days work. Deck looks good brother, nice work. Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted April 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2016 Day Two My wife really wanted the black balusters and after looking at all of the different options and individual pieces. I decided to pick up the pre-assembled kits to mainly save time. This wasn't really the case in the end. At the end of the project, it came out ok. But the kit has a tendency to rack very easily since the balusters are very loosely fitting in the dowel holes. Since the kit is already pre-made there is no real room for error. The installation process is that you first need to center the assembly between your posts and then determine an equal distance between the balusters and then cut the top rail. You then need to fit the top rail, level it off and then make sure the lower rail is not racked. You then need to mark the lower rail and then cut it. It wasn't a 5 minute process, I wasted a lot of time with the assembly between the posts only to do a lot of fine tuning with it. I think if I ended up using traditional lumber for the head and foot rail and then just bought the pieces that had mountable bases it would have gone a lot quicker. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJr. Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 Looks good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruton Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 That turned out nice man. So what's up next? A little stain? Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 Yes, I need to head over to my Dad's and get his gas powered pressure washer. My GreenWorks would do it, but the gas one would do it a lot quicker. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruton Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 Yes, I need to head over to my Dad's and get his gas powered pressure washer. My GreenWorks would do it, but the gas one would do it a lot quicker. That is something I need to invest in. The gas pressure washer we have at the farm is entirely too much for using around the house. I need something a little more manageable. Looking forward to seeing the end product! Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmikez Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 99 u got skills my friend! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazzman Posted April 18, 2016 Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 That looks awesome bro. Good choice on the sam adams there,I like their summer selections this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 No doubt. I love Sam Adams, they keep it interesting pretty much all year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99_XC600 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2016 18 hours ago, kruton said: That is something I need to invest in. The gas pressure washer we have at the farm is entirely too much for using around the house. I need something a little more manageable. Looking forward to seeing the end product! Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk I like the Greenworks due to the simplicity and the low price point. It's good on Masonry and Concrete, but with decking, it will get the job done. It's just going to take you longer. I've seen that the electric versions are getting and better and better each year though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnarlyCarl Posted April 19, 2016 Report Share Posted April 19, 2016 Good progress. That turned out good looking, despite the tedious process. Also when you need to replace the other boards, there wont be the posts in the way, are those getting replaced as well sometime down the line? And then there are cordless pressure washers, very handy, low use alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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