Decks and Outdoor Structures
Deck railing in Lancaster and Chester County, PA
The railing is most of what you see of a deck from the yard, and usually the first part to wobble on an old one. We install five kinds, on decks we build and on decks that only need the railing: Wolf railing to match Wolf decking, black aluminum, horizontal cable, composite, and wood. A railing-only job is welcome. It takes a day or two and changes the whole look of the deck.
Five Railings
- Aluminum: black or white, slim balusters, never painted, the railing on most of our decks.
- Cable: horizontal stainless cables between posts, nearly invisible, for a view. Getting the posts and the tension right is most of the work.
- Wolf railing: matched to Wolf decking in color and profile, so the deck reads as one piece.
- Composite: a heavier, wood-like rail in the deck’s colors, with aluminum or composite balusters.
- Wood: a pressure-treated or cedar rail, painted or stained, for a wood deck or a farmhouse.
What the Code Asks
Any deck more than thirty inches off the ground needs a railing at least thirty-six inches tall, with openings small enough that a four-inch ball cannot pass through, and posts anchored so the rail takes a hard lean without moving. Old railings often fail on all three, and an inspector will flag them when anything else on the deck is permitted. We build to those numbers, and the drink rail on the Downingtown pool deck below shows the railing doing more than the minimum.
On Your Existing Deck
If the frame and the boards are sound, a new railing goes on in a day or two: the old one comes off, the posts are through-bolted or anchored with hardware made for it, and the new rail goes up. We look at the frame first, because a railing anchored to a soft joist is not a railing.
Questions
Questions We Get
Do you do railing by itself?
Yes. A railing-only job on a sound deck is a short one and welcome.
Does cable railing meet the code?
Yes, when the posts are close enough and the cables are tensioned so they cannot spread past the four-inch rule. The post spacing is what makes it work, and we set it for the span.
What railing goes with a composite deck?
Black aluminum is the usual answer and the cleanest. Wolf railing matches Wolf decking exactly, composite rail matches the boards, and cable disappears for a view.
Process
How We Work
- We visit, measure, and talk through the scope before anything is priced.
- You get a written proposal, and we build to it.
- Where the work needs a permit, we walk you through it every step: the application, the drawings the township asks for, and the inspections.
- We are on site from the first day to the last, and the house stays clean while we work.
- We walk the finished job with you, fix anything on the list, and clean up.
Decks and Outdoor Structures
More Kinds of Decks and Outdoor
Service area
Where We Work
Based in Christiana, we work across Lancaster County and Chester County.
Lancaster County
- Christiana
- Gap
- Quarryville
- Strasburg
- Lancaster
Chester County
- Parkesburg
- Coatesville
- West Chester
- Kennett Square
- Downingtown
- Malvern
- Chester Springs
- Frazer
We recently had Kings Remodeling complete a front portico, a garage apron, and patio door covering on our home, and are very pleased with the quality of the work. The team was professional, communicated well throughout the project, and was responsive to our questions. They also followed up after the work was completed to make sure everything was done to our satisfaction. Overall, a great experience and we would definitely recommend Kings Remodeling.
— Jennifer HaynFront portico, garage canopy, and patio door cover5 stars on Google
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