Porch Progress
I got all the new hand rail and balusters up. This actually went pretty smooth, but it was time consuming. You really don’t want things to be crooked. Also, I didn’t want to have to make any more hand rail, so I measured 3 times and cut once or twice.
The news rails and balusters are very close to meeting code, but not quite. I’ve already begun to think of ways to bring them to code if it becomes an issue. I’m hoping it won’t become an issue.
The next step was going to be the stairs but I think I might go ahead and strip the rest of the columns, and the siding under the porch, and get the whole thing painted. The sooner it looks like it’s always been there the better.
All this and I still had time to go day 2 of the Kinetic Sculptor Race.
5 comments:
Code determines the height of the top and bottom rail, and the space in between the balusters. You should not be able to pass a 4-inch sphere between the balusters or below the bottom rail. For reasons I won’t go in to, the bottom rail needed to be about 5-inches off the deck. The balusters are 4-inches apart at the top and bottom, but the gap widens in the middle because they are tapered.
I'm suspecting you're talking about the overall height of the rails, which is probably not high enough. However, there is an exception, which is if your porch is 30 inches or less from the ground, you don't need handrails at all, and thus can put low ones in. Could you pile the dirt up a little.
As far as "looking like it's been there", try covering the new items with the ubiquitous blue tarp (to keep the rain off the wood you're stripping). Then, when you remove the tarp, noone will remember what was there before. It works for window reframing, etc.
Doug
The height of the rails just makes it. It is right at 32-inches. That is the one thing that does meet code. When I did the back porch I built it to code. The 30" rule applies if you have less than 3 steps. The porch landing is considered a step so I have 4 and need a rail regardless of the height of the porch.
What are those things called with the cross-cross pattern on the photo?
I'm not sure which think you're talking about. Do you mean at the top of the porch, just above the brackets and below the rain gutter?
Greg
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