On Thursday, September 13, 2012 10:22:52 AM UTC-5, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Sep 13, 10:09*am, Hell Toupee wrote:

On 9/12/2012 10:08 PM, David wrote:











Lived in this house 35 years. *Now wife needs a handrail to get up/down

front steps. *Planning on going with metal railing, 36" high.. Posts are 2x2

with a square bottom flange with four holes for bolts. *The manufacturer

recommends 3/8" x 4" expansion anchors for attaching posts to the concrete

steps.



The problem: *A few years ago I overlaid the steps and sidewalk with

decorative concrete "stones" which are 11 x 14 x 3 1/2" thick. *Two layers.

So, the concrete steps are 7" below the surface of the stones. *The stones

are held in place with construction adhesive, which has been satisfactory so

far. *But definitely will not hold the stones securely enough to support a

handrail. * I could use 12" long expansion anchors to penetrate to the

concrete steps but they are 3/4" diameter and I'm concerned about the "swiss

cheese" effect on the concrete. *Alternately, I could use 5/8" x 10" anchors

with only 3" in the step concrete, which would probably have enough holding

power and slightly less "swiss cheese".



What are the other options for securing the posts, if any? *I would be

especially interested the approach others have successfully used in a

similar situation.



When I was much younger, and didn't know _how_ to anchor a handrail to

our concrete porch/steps, I came up with a perfectly acceptable

workaround that stands to this day. I used sections of 4x4 cedar

posts. Dug holes right alongside the bottom stop and the porch slab

and stood the sections upright (in concrete) so their tops were level

with the step and porch. Then I bolted the handrail into the top of

the posts. Presto: handrail firmly secured right alongside the edge of

the steps. Bonus: since the concrete wasn't touched, there has been no

cracking or patching needed, which is more than can be said of my

neighbor's porch, where he mounted his handrail directly into the

concrete.- Hide quoted text -



- Show quoted text -



My neighbor did a similar thing, except that he designed his own

railing.



He used 1 x 4 cedar boards, laid flat from post to post, top and

bottom, and added some nice wrought iron spindles.



The 1 x 4 gives a nice flat surface for coffee cups, packages, etc. as

you are using the front door or standing on the stoop.



The difference was that he had no actual steps to worry about, just a

single step down from the stoop slab to the walkway, so his railing

was a simple horizontal section.

The wife wants metal railings. 'Nuff said.