Building Porch Railing Yourself

Similar to the upper screws add wood button plugs allow the glue to dry then sand them flush with the surface.

Building porch railing yourself.

Next mark the railing height on the posts with a pencil and double check the distance between the posts. Darek built this railing up his front porch steps using this surface mount railing kit. Be sure to hit solid wood underneath the floorboards such as joists or rim joists. Cut several small blocks that length off of your scrap 2x4.

Then buy balusters and wood according to your measurements or cut the wood down to size yourself. The kit uses a combination of swivel socket fittings so that the railing can be installed on stairs with any angle. Measure how far off of the porch deck you want your bottom rail to be. Set your railing assembly on top of the blocks and check for fit.

Overall the railing is beautiful but unobtrusive. Position one at each end where the railing will attach to newell posts or other material and one in the middle. Attach the railing to the porch. Screw the railing to the porch.

To build a deck railing start by figuring out how many posts you need then cut your wood to size and install the posts. Building a perfect fit handrail with this old house general contractor tom silva.