On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:29:39 +0000, aemeijers wrote:

franz fripplfrappl wrote:
Any suggestions for attaching the ends of a 5 foot railing to keep
people from falling out of a loft?

I am planning a railing made of oak.

Thanks.
A loft rail is no different than the straight section of rail on the
upstairs end of an old-style open staircase, except you don't have a
banister to tie to.

Look in the staircase parts aisle. Newel post with the half-lap bottom
extension, lagged into the band joist on the loft. (Countersink and
cover with dowel pegs, to make it pretty.) Or if you can make a pocket
in the framing so you can lag from 2 directions, all the better. Note
that you DO NOT want to bolt this through drywall at any point- you want
a hard joint with the framing.

Now if this is between 2 walls, it is a lot easier- bury big steel
L-brackets in the end of the railing, and lag those to doubled 2x's in
the wall, again, without fastening through drywall.

Bolt it all up before you mud, paint, and finish the space. If you can
make it wobble, it isn't stiff enough. Make it twice as strong as you
think it needs to be- rails over open spaces take a lot of abuse,
especially if there are kids around.

aem sends...

Thanks.