Repair Services That Might Help You !

Santa Maria California Vineyard's

Bridge the Gap

This is a Bridge Rail

Looking at this home I had to put this on many years ago, there was a large ravine in front and had to figure out how they were going to get from the driveway to the front porch. The Architect came up with this idea and I built it. It was a bridge on posts about ten feet above the ground at points with lots of big carriage bolts and hardware. We used 2 x 6 redwood for the walkway and handrail. It really works well still to this day.

These handrails are between stucco covered framed posts. Supports were bolted to the frame before the stucco was put on. The redwood that shows was installed after.

Some Railings Have More Than One Level and Need To Be Connected at the Corners Too

When you run into the problem of the railings being at different levels and you need to figure out what angle to cut them at, just lay a piece of scrap on the tips of the steps on edge and you can take a square and square up from the point you want to cut the angle. This will give you the correct angle to transfer to the good wood without wasting a piece of redwood or composite! If you cut one end and make sure that it is long enough to make the railing length that you need for that section, then you can put it on the steps again use a level to find the other end and mark it to cut the other end. Remember at the end of a stair where you make a transition off of the stairway to a flat surface and the railing is to end, make sure you run the railing at least 2 to 3 inches past the tip or nosing of the last thread for safety code. Keep your railings height between 34 inches and 37 inches high in most areas or the country, but as always check with your local building department to be sure on your safety height. Also most places in the country (U S A) have a height requirement for your distance between each step. Generally the measurement of each step needs to be no greater than the last step by 1/8 of an inch either way so that someone walking up them doesn't trip on one that is a lot different in height and width also.

 

Latios or Little Sticks, 2X2's,  Iron

  Railings can be made out of various materials as long as they are no more than The Correct Distance Apart at any point and are Strong Enough to Hold Someone from Falling Through.

 You can use wrought iron and have them welded on site, bolted to your deck and to the walls of the house. Latios are used a lot on southwestern home and fanned out as in the picture above to look like the sun rising. They are sticks that have had their bark stripped off and dried generally about 1 inch in diameter. The most common are 2 inch X 2 inch redwood. You can save a little if you buy them in lengths of eight feet and cut them yourself instead of getting them pre- cut to length!

 

Deck Hardware

If you have any deck & Railing hardware that is rusted or bent, maybe even falling off or the nails or screws have come loose. Time to replace it. Just pull the fasteners off and take it with you to the warehouse parts store to match them up to the type you need. They need to be in good condition to do their job. They are an integral part of your deck and will not operate correctly if they are missing. You see every thing in your deck & Railing has a purpose. When you have company over and they are out having fun on your deck or leaning against the railing, moving around on it, it has to compensate for shifting weights all the time. That is what all these little metal parts do. So make sure they are in good safe condition.

Redwood or Composite Type or even Metal are Standard Railing Materials.

There are a few elements to a good railing system. First is the support posts. Today again like a deck you have many choices in railing materials. There are timbers, composite and metal. What ever you choose you need to make sure that they are secured to solid timbers. If there is any dry rot, take it out and replace with new wood solidly around the posts. Use screws whenever you can because it is easier should you need to fix it down the road and it holds the structure together stronger. Replace any of the pickets or balusters that are even loose. You might try to tighten them up by hand. That way you will be able to feel if they are stripped out or solid.

There are lots of different type of railings. Some you can make and others that can be ordered and installed.

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