Cable Railings - A Great Railing Style For Open Views

Cable railings located at a corner with a custom steel post You may have seen cable railings in some home magazines or in commercial applications. It looks great and really offers a wide open view - if you have one.

I don't come across cable railing in residential applications that often. However there are a few companies that do offer some impressive products.

Most of the homes I have seen using cable railings tend to be in smaller rural or vaction type locations. Perhaps because the building codes allow for horizontal rails.

It's a simple configuration usually involving standard railing posts of either wood or steel and connectors that allow stainless steel cables to span horizontal sections.

Or you can quite easily build your own. It's fairly simple. Here is what I recommend.

Build Your Own Cable Railing

Stainless steel cable for horizontal railing Purchase 1/8" to 1/4" diameter stainless steel cable along with stainless steel turnbuckles or threaded terminal endings and use regular 4x4 posts.

Turnbuckles and connectors for stainless cable railing These items can be found at specialty hardware stores or perhaps a sailing shop that sells rigging equipment.

Just remember that the posts have to be secured very firmly because the cable, when tightened will exert significant lateral force.

Horizontal or Vertical Stiles?

Horizontal cable railing will be less expensive because there are fewer rails and hardware. Vertical cable requires more hardware connections and labor so is more expensive to install. But any horizontal railing design may run afoul of various building codes.

Building Code Issues

Corner connection of cable railings Keep in mind that even though cable railings are quite functional and great for unobstructed viewing, many building codes do not allow for horizontal members (including as cable wire) because it can be used to facilitate climbing.

This is particularly true for residential applications and the reason you will see more creative railing designs in commericial environments where children are not usually left to their own devices.

So double check your local building restrictions at City Hall. Otherwise, consider installing cable railings for your deck. It's a sleek and long lasting alternative to traditional railing applications.