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.

"franz fripplfrappl" wrote in message
et...
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.

Screws. It would help though, if you told us what the type of construction
is and what you are attaching the ends to..

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...

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.

On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:13:59 +0000, Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"franz fripplfrappl" wrote in message
et...
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.

Screws. It would help though, if you told us what the type of
construction is and what you are attaching the ends to..



The opening is about 9-10 wide with a floor to ceiling center post in the
middle. Each opening is then about 5' wide.

There will be two railings.

Each railing will have one end affixed to the enter post which is 6x6 and
the other end to the end of a wall which is of 2x6 construction.

"franz fripplfrappl" wrote in message


The opening is about 9-10 wide with a floor to ceiling center post in the
middle. Each opening is then about 5' wide.

There will be two railings.

Each railing will have one end affixed to the enter post which is 6x6 and
the other end to the end of a wall which is of 2x6 construction.


If the center post is 6 x 6, I'd put a 3 x 6 on each end to make it look
right, extending it to at least railing height. That can easily be anchored
into the wall studs and be very secure. Then, depending on what attachment
hardware is available, screws or lags into the end post.

While OSHA regulations don't apply to homeowners, they do specify railings
should be strong enough to support 200 pounds in any direction. Use a hefty
screw. If you have kids, at some point one or more will be standing or
sitting on the rail.