Deck Railing Post Anchors
Consider these deck railing post anchors options for attaching posts to deck surfaces. There are numerous anchors available with different advantages and disadvantages.
This particular anchor, the Titan Post Anchor is the most advanced surface mounted anchor around. It's an internal anchor - completely hidden from view and super strong.
You can always find this product on our site but over time you will see in appearing in stores across the US and Canada as we build our distribution networks.
Let's look at post anchor options available to you...
With the right deck post railing anchors or hardware you can get some impressive aesthetic results and greatly reduce the potential for rot.
The most common railings that utilize surface mounted posts tend to be aluminum railings or some of the PVC and composite railings.
Aluminum posts
Aluminum posts are usually bolted to the deck surface through a base welded to the post.
The fasteners and base are visible but the entire railing becomes quite strong as long as both ends of the railing are tied in to the wall of the home. Long unsupported runs of railing will tend to be weaker unless post support brackets are used.
PVC Posts
PVC coated railings systems usually have galvanized steel inserts to stiffen the railing posts and components.
The PVC posts are usually secured to the deck surface with a collar that fits tightly around the periphery of the post and over lapping flanges from the base of the post that extend out from the periphery.
Some products are stiffer than others. Then entire connection is covered with a PVC fitting to improve the aesthetics.
Wood posts
Securing a wood post to a deck surface has always been a challenging problem to solve. There are a variety of products available but where one succeeds in offering a lot of strength it tends to lack good aesthetics and vice versa.
Here is an aluminum casting that fits externally around a 4x4. For simple jobs around the house they work quite well and are cheap.
But if you need to build an real "guardrail" that can meet the horizontal load requirements in the building code, exercise caution as the castings can break below the threshold.
However, for a non-life threatening application like these stairs, this kind of an external anchor works fine. Except that it is external and completely visible. It's lower on the aesthetic scale.
Here is a stronger external metal post anchor but it is not the type of thing most homeowners would want to see at the bottom of each of the deck posts.
Aside from the dominance of the anchor itself, the bolts and brackets are completely visible. These anchors are better suited for applications where a nicely finished product is not required.
Some homeowners use these anchors, even after spending thousands of dollars on renovation and deck upgrades.
But it just doesn't look that great. And eventually these anchors end up looking rusted and beaten up.
Hidden Aluminum Post Anchors
Here is one of the best aluminum post anchor systems on the market that I have found. I used to be a distributor for this product a number of years ago. The company is Dekteck Industries out of Vancouver,BC.
This is one of my old aluminum glass railing jobs using their product and you can't even tell how the post is attached. It looks great. It is a component railing system so it does have some limitations. But overall it is pretty impressive.
Here is another job of mine using their post anchor for 4x4 wood posts along with their proprietary aluminum wood system.
Very clean looking - the anchor and fasteners are completely hidden. If all the railing is tied back to the house and there are no unsupported runs, it can be quite strong.
The only downside to this post anchor is that it really should be used with their railing system to be strong enough to meet the code. It is not as strong if you try to install a few posts by themselves.
No Notching Required
However there is no doubt that being able to simply attach a post to a deck surface without having to go through the finicky process of notching posts and decking boards is a great convenience. And if it can reduce rot at the same time you have another huge benefit.
The Titan Post Anchor is now available at stores in 27 states and growing. Click here to see where you can buy locally.