What balustrade timber?

[jaydenRadisich]

Hi All,

I’m looking to add a balustrade to my deck and would appreciate some advice.

• Deck size: 4480mm (wide) x 1690mm (deep), with stairs approx. 1070mm

• Slat height: approx. 800mm high
  (Note: the drop-off is less than 600mm, so a balustrade isn’t required by code, but I’d like to install one as a safety precaution to prevent accidental falls.)

• Style: Vertical timber slats

I’m looking for recommendations on the following:

• Suitable post size

• Appropriate post brackets (to be bolted into a concrete deck)

• Horizontal rail timber size [Notching into posts]

• Recommended maximum span between posts for stability

• Ideal vertical slat size (I was thinking around [92x18 mm]

If you need any more information to make suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[MitchellMc]

Hi @jaydenRadisich,

You could go with 1800mm as a max span between posts, and for those, I would suggest 88 x 88mm 2.4m H3 LOSP Treated & Primed Laminated FJ Pine Post. Anything less than 1800mm would add to rigidity. For the brackets, you can use Vuepro 90mm Stainless Steel Bolt Down Post Support.

For handrails, we have 85 x 42mm 5.4m Baluster Handrail H3 Pink Pine FJ Primed Ladies Waist Rebated LOSP. This 92 x 18mm 5.4m FJ PR4 Primed LOSP H3 Treated Pine would be perfect for the vertical slats, and this 66 x 42mm 5.4m Baluster Bottom Rail H3 Pink Pine FJ Primed EBR4 LOSP for your bottom rail.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[jaydenRadisich]

Hi @MitchellMc 

thanks for the fast response

posts and bolt down supports look to be perfect

i dont want to use a top and bottom rail, looking for more the slat type instead of the top/bottom rail look 

which would mean i would have to use vertical timber for eg 200mm down from top and 200 up from bottom all the way around then the slats will screw to these 

would you know what i could use for these ? [please refer to the 2nd last photo for reference on what i want it to look like]

Thanks again !!

[MitchellMc]

Hi @jaydenRadisich,

You'd need to use something quite solid, like 90 x 42mm 3.6m F7 H3 Treated Pine Primed LOSP - 3.6m. Even then, it would probably need to be supported every 900mm.

Would you then attach the 92 x 18mm to that? The image appears to have thin batons rather than wider boards. 

Mitchell

[jaydenRadisich]

Hi @MitchellMc 

looking to achieve something like the below [hope this makes a bit more sense] i drew that drawing to scale thats why it looks a little bit weird 

 

[MitchellMc]

Now I see @jaydenRadisich. I think 90 x 42mm would be a good idea for rails if you are looking to place posts at 1800mm. If you went down to 1500mm, you could get away with 66 x 40mm rails, but you'll probably need a chock under the bottom rail at the midway point for support.

Mitchell

[jaydenRadisich]

Thanks @MitchellMc 

think i will go with the following 

Posts : 88 x 88mm

Brackets : VUEPRO 90mm Galvanised Tradies Bolt Down Post Support.

Rails : 90 x 42mm  

Slats : 92 x 18mm

do you think that a gap of 36mm inbetween slats would make it look similar to the photo i attached [was thinking of having two boards together to use for the gap] ?

Lastly, what screws would you recoend for the slats ? or would you recomend a nail gun [ i have the Ryobi 18V ONE+ Li-Ion Cordless Nail Gun ] or would screws last longer etc

Thanks

[MitchellMc]

I've created a rendering using those materials and the 36mm gap @jaydenRadisich. That will give you a better idea of what it will look like.

I'd recommend Zenith 10 - 8 x 50mm Galvanised Countersunk Rib Head Timber Screws. Brads will typically rust in external environments, unless you use stainless steel brads. Even then, screws are the more secure fixing method.

Mitchell

 

[jaydenRadisich]

Perfect, looks great !! [what program do you use to render this ?]

and also, im about 500m to the beach, would i possibly opt to using a Stainless Steel screw instead of galvanised ? 

Thanks

[MitchellMc]

I use a program called Tinkercad @jaydenRadisich.

Stainless steel screws would be a great idea. Will you be painting over them? My only concern is that you typically find 304 stainless, which is fine for exterior applications. However, for close proximity to the beach, you'd really want to go to 316, which provides much higher resistance to pitting and corrosion from chlorides (salt). Our Special Order team in-store can take a look for you to see if we can order some in.

If you are painting over the screws, the grade of stainless becomes much less of a concern.

Mitchell