Attaching wooden lats to a metal balcony rail
 

What is the best way to attach pine wooden balcony lats ( 11 cms wide, 90 cms high and 2 cms thick) to a metal tube railing/frame (3 cms x 3 cms, about 70 cms apart from top to bottom). The balcony is long and goes round half the house, about 30 meters. The metal frame has been treated with rust proof paint and 2 coats of brown metal paint. The wood lats have been treated with anti mould and 2 coats of exterior wood protector.

Is it best to:

1. Screw on a long horizontal wooden lat ( 3 cms wide, 1.5 cm thick and 30 meters long) on the outside of the frame first, and then to screw on each lat in turn from the outside, wood to wood.
2. Or can I screw the wooden lats directly onto the metal frame using metal screws, wood to metal. The metal is thick and this will be time consuming.

Questions:

3. What types of screws should I use? Are there any specific screws intended for just this purpose.
4. Can you glue the lats on first, to make sure they are straight and the gaps between each one is correct and then attach them using the screws.

Any other handy tips or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Andy

Andy, I wouldn't drill holes in the metal. It creates places for water
to get in and cause corrosion. Additionally, you'd need to be concerned
about dissimilar metal reactions between screws and the metail rail.

My suggestion would be to clamp the lats to the posts with U bolts.
Make sure the U bolts are large enough to slip around the post. Use
stainless steel one if you can get them. If you can't get stainless,
use galvanized cleaned very well in vinegar and painted to match the
railing.

Cut the U bolts to length so the legs just come through the lats. I
would counterbore the holes for flat washers and a jam nut which is
thinner than a standard nut. After clamping the lat in place and
tightening the jam nuts, go around and cap the ends of the U bolts with
an acorn or cap nut.

As far as setting the height and leveling the lats, no glue. It will
just make a mess anyway. Make yourself a few gauge blocks from some
scrap wood. These can be temporarily clamped to the railing to support
the lat while you install it. work from the bottom up. Set the lowest
lats first, then set the gauge blocks on the lat and install the next
run.

Does that stuff make sense?

Dave
Andy wrote:
What is the best way to attach pine wooden balcony lats ( 11 cms
wide,
90 cms high and 2 cms thick) to a metal tube railing/frame (3 cms x 3
cms, about 70 cms apart from top to bottom). The balcony is long and
goes round half the house, about 30 meters. The metal frame has been
treated with rust proof paint and 2 coats of brown metal paint. The
wood lats have been treated with anti mould and 2 coats of exterior
wood protector.

Is it best to:

1. Screw on a long horizontal wooden lat ( 3 cms wide, 1.5 cm thick
and 30 meters long) on the outside of the frame first, and then to
screw on each lat in turn from the outside, wood to wood.
2. Or can I screw the wooden lats directly onto the metal frame using
metal screws, wood to metal. The metal is thick and this will be time
consuming.

Questions:

3. What types of screws should I use? Are there any specific screws
intended for just this purpose.
4. Can you glue the lats on first, to make sure they are straight and
the gaps between each one is correct and then attach them using the
screws.

Any other handy tips or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Andy


--
Andy