How to Build Deck Railings

The Basics on How to Build Deck Railings

There are many options that you can put into your deck railings when you construct one. For those who would love to do things themselves, they should start with the typical basic builder deck railings without the fancy designs. This is a good place to start before adding in touches of design. Safety and durability should be your first concern on how to build deck railings.

Here are your steps on how to build deck railings for those who are building one on their own for the first time. Once you learn these basics, you can add other elements into your railings. It is assumed in the procedure below that your deck and steps have already been built. It is also assumed that you have your decking already trimmed at the outer frame that encircles your entire deck.

Fastening Your Upper Deck Railings

Cut pieces that you would use for your upper deck railings. Pieces of 2×6 should be able to mimic the outer frame of your deck when they stand upright on the outside of your deck.

Remember that each piece you work with will have something known as a crown. This is the upward curvature of the pieces of wood you’re working on. Remember to place them crown side up. This adds strength to your railings and makes them more attractive.

Position those temporarily using tacks and use spiral ACQ nails or screws to fasten them to each other. Now is the time to place posts at the base of your steps; that is if you want to install those. You’ll fasten your deck railings to these later on. We now move on to the next phase on how to build deck railings.

Placing Balusters

The next phase on how to build deck railings will be placing your balusters. Mark the positions of your balusters using a frame square. You then mount the balusters at the corners of your upper deck railing. You may use galvanized fasteners, screws, or ACQ rated fasteners.

You then lift the entire upper deck railing with the balusters into place. Fasten screws at the bottoms. This will give elevation to your upper rails. This will also make adding the other balusters much easier. As you add balusters, you’ll notice that your railings will get sturdier. After mounting all the balusters, fasten these to the posts using screws.

A Few Tips

These are the basics on how to build deck railings. Remember to check if each baluster you add is at the proper vertical level as the others you have already in place. Since there are many railing styles, choose one that will fit both your time and your budget.