Thread: Deck talk part two- railings.... Fortress Aluminum?

Now that I got the deck surface resolved, going with a high-grade Cedar, I need to decide on railings. In thinking of maintanence and durability, I am leaning towards a Fortress Alumium railing. The biggest pain in the ass part of painting/staining is the railings so it seems like a safe choice.

So a cedar surface with the black tradtional railings with colonial tops- any thoughts? The wife says I have to pick it out and anyone married knows this is a dangerous proposition....

http://www.fortressrailing.com/railing/al13/

Black railings will be burning hot in the sunlight. I would get the cap rail clips and use a wood or composite top cap. Keeping the top cap sanded and painted/stained isn't a big deal, and it won't burn you every time you lean on it. Plus it's a surface on which people can leave their drinks.

I don't know the product so I don't know if it's truly maintenance free. My garage door is powder coated and the paint is still intact after 5 years but it is dull and uneven looking--I guess I'm supposed to wax it. If you do have to refinish the rail you'll have to keep the paint off the deck. When you do reoil your deck it will be simple to do the rail at the same time if it's wood. If aluminum you'll have to keep the oil off the rail. And only the top of the rail will need reoiling that often--so the aluminum will save work but not as much as you think. Nothing in this life is maintenance free, no matter what they say.
Key piece of info--do you have a metal roof that sheds onto the deck railing? Amazing how many people around here do--even new houses.

Wait, your going with a cedar deck and your staining it? Grew up with a backyard practically made of cedar, my dad was nuts for it. Decks, fences, trellises, sheds and shit, all if it cedar, none of it stained. Pretty low maintenance stuff, ages well, smells awesome in the rain. He wasn't a carpenter, all self taught, and none of it fell over in the 25 years they lived in that house.

Originally Posted by That was Pontus

Wait, your going with a cedar deck and your staining it? Grew up with a backyard practically made of cedar, my dad was nuts for it. Decks, fences, trellises, sheds and shit, all if it cedar, none of it stained. Pretty low maintenance stuff, ages well, smells awesome in the rain. He wasn't a carpenter, all self taught, and none of it fell over in the 25 years they lived in that house.

I agree. No need to stain it. It'll turn grey, but I find cedar's character improves with age. My dad was the same way with our backyard in MN. Not much sun, though.

Old Japanese cedar barns/garages are still alive all over the place here. They look awesome after several years of weathering. I'll be doing the same next spring-- natural cedar siding on my garage.

Toxic-- the sawdust can screw with your sinuses/lungs for the long-term. Wear a mask when cutting/sanding.

Watch out when you pressure wash it. After about ten years of washing it that way the grain starts to lift out of the wood. Then it's time to sand. My parents just did this last summer. They also stained with a lil color to match the house. Def stain it, you're making a nice investment on it. Treat it right and you make get some extra lovin from the wife.

I should be more specific. I don't intend on staining the deck as I actually would like it to turn grey, I leave my Ipe deck unstained but it does need to be cleaned and re-oiled. With the Cedar, I assume (and you know you should never say that) it would also need to be power washed/cleaned and sealed to some extent. I am really anal about keeping my house and stuff in good condition. School me please. if I don't need to seal or treat, then yes a cedar topper on the railing would be a better option- thanks for the tip on the heat issue.

Originally Posted by gaijin

I agree. No need to stain it. It'll turn grey, but I find cedar's character improves with age. My dad was the same way with our backyard in MN. Not much sun, though.

Old Japanese cedar barns/garages are still alive all over the place here. They look awesome after several years of weathering. I'll be doing the same next spring-- natural cedar siding on my garage.

Toxic-- the sawdust can screw with your sinuses/lungs for the long-term. Wear a mask when cutting/sanding.

Never under any circumstances power wash cedar. At most, use some TSP and a stiff cleaning-type broom. Power washing will definitely fuck it up.

Also, count me in the leave it completely untreated camp. If someday down the line you decided you don't like the aged gracefully look, you can easily sand it down to fresh wood and oil/stain it. But once you start, you are committed and it is extremely difficult to go back. In other words, oil it once and you commit yourself to a lifetime of repeated applications.

As to railings, I have no opinion, except that it's really easy for non-design types to pick a railing that is either flat-out ugly or totally incongruous with the house design. Of course, "house design" is damn near an oxymoron in this country so it may not matter, but the point is that no one can give you advice on style without seeing your house and knowing what kind of deck you plan on building.

If you keep it oiled, even without stain it won't turn gray. Of course you could let it turn gray and then oil it. We have wood posts and top rail but instead of ballisters we ran stainless steel wire through the posts horizontally 4" apart, swaged onto turnbuckles. don't know if that's to code in all jurisdictions. Makes maintenance a lot easier than wood ballisters. I would think wood posts and railings and maintain the same way you maintain the deck.

Originally Posted by BoatBound

I should be more specific. I don't intend on staining the deck as I actually would like it to turn grey, I leave my Ipe deck unstained but it does need to be cleaned and re-oiled. With the Cedar, I assume (and you know you should never say that) it would also need to be power washed/cleaned and sealed to some extent. I am really anal about keeping my house and stuff in good condition. School me please. if I don't need to seal or treat, then yes a cedar topper on the railing would be a better option- thanks for the tip on the heat issue.

I don't really know enough to school you. I just know that I grew up with a cedar patio, deck, fence, and firewood pit benches. None of it was ever treated and it lasted 20 years until we moved. I remember my mom constantly wanting to stain it to preserve it and my dad constantly telling her it wasn't necessary. He was right.

I have learned it'll warp in high sun. My firewood box outside is warping in a really cool kinda way. IMO, in regards to building with cedar, build it to weather and enjoy the ages.

thanks much for the help! its much appreciated. Going to go with cedar, no stain and let it ride. Railings will be aluminum with cedar toppers.

Don't know if this is applicable to your situation, but our deck fronts a great view, so instead of boards for the cross slats under the railing we used 1/4" steel cable about 8" apart. From our living room we can look through it and don't even see the cables. It doesn't meet the Buidling Code, but if you don't have kids it's not an issue.

Originally Posted by Mudfoot

Don't know if this is applicable to your situation, but our deck fronts a great view, so instead of boards for the cross slats under the railing we used 1/4" steel cable about 8" apart. From our living room we can look through it and don't even see the cables. It doesn't meet the Buidling Code, but if you don't have kids it's not an issue.

We used 3/16 and spaced 4 inches apart--the distance is code but I'm not sure about the cable since it's flexible enough that I suppose a kid could force his head through. Any one know?

It depends on the jurisdiction but some places will place a 30# weight on a cable and then measure the spread to see if it's within code. Easiest thing to do is call your local inspector and ask.

When laying your decking and deciding which side to face up, consider how it'll warp-- If the "U" of the end-grain is upside down, the edges will rise.