Alumarail Cable Railing Installation Instructions
From cablerailings.com (Revised 10/20/06)
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Listed below are procedural steps when installing our cable system in an Alumarail Series 200 or 999 railing system.
We have made a list with links to answers on this same page, just further down the page. Sort of like a long page
that goes on and on. We have inserted drawings or photos in the answers or linked some answers with photos or drawings
to better explain the particular item we are talking about. Once on a linked photo or drawing just click the back button at the
top of your screen to return to this page.
Simply scroll through the list to your area of interest and click on the link that interests you.
List of items on this page.
Rules of Thumb: End posts off the house, two post corners and no more than 4 ft. of unsupported cable. This could mean posts
at 4 ft. or larger post centers with a device in between (Spreader) to assist in keeping the cables from being opened up easily. In
photos on our web site and one below in this page you can see a normal picket being used for that purpose. It makes the cable feel
much more solid for the same amount of tension in the cables.
A. It is best to place the end post away from the house so you can get behind them to tighten the nuts on the cable
if using a stud on both ends of the cable CA1010. Least expensive and most versatile of all assemblies and has
an adjuster (threaded stud) at both ends of the cable. If the top rail almost touches the house the eye doesn't see the gap between
the post and house. End post photo
B. Two post corners allow you to either stop and start the cable on separate posts or go on around the corner
saving a lot of money on the fittings. Hint: Don't place the posts more than 4" apart. Max. number of 90 deg. corners
is two (2). We have used the extruded 45 degree post and done 8 each 45 deg. corners with up to 80 ft. of cable
and things worked out well.
C. Cable is movable and not like pipe, metal pickets, etc. Code in most jurisdictions says that a 4" (some have 5 or 6")
sphere can not pass through any spot on the railing (bottom of railings on stairs differ). The force applied is pretty
vague if not even specified. There are square footage requirements, but specific ball loads are unknown at present.
D. Stairs are almost always a challenge. You can have an isolated stairway with one or both sides needing railings. You can
have one with a landing at the top (could be the deck itself), in the middle of the run or at the bottom and all require
some care in placing the posts to minimize the number of starts and stops for the cable and associated costs with additional
fittings. The following link (an owner installed railing package from us) shows a short stair section (elevation change on the deck)
with the first step level with the upper deck. Note the smooth transition of the top rail for a truely clean look to the finished
railing system. We started and stopped the cable between the upper two posts creating only two runs of cable for the entire deck
which went on around the house. Customer recently added to that system after a year Elevation change.
Note the fascia trim on the steps to help with the 6" ball rolling off the steps code issue and the smooth look of the Oval top
rail (Series 999).
With cable several things play a roll with code requirements such as support spacing, cable spacing and tension. The
support can be a post or a smaller device to assist with keeping the cable from being opened up easily.
Photo showing some smaller center supports. In this case the end result was
a support for the cable every 3 ft. or less and it looked nice and had a very good feel at lower tension. This job
was 95 ft. long
We are finding that a target of 3" cable spacing and no more then 4 ft. of unsupported cable is best. Supports can be further apart,
but you have to tension the cable more to arrive at the same opening resistance for the ball. Too many cables and or too much
tension can cause problems with the end posts that take most of the total cable tension. Experience has shown that tension of at
least 125 lbs. is needed to make a cable system feel good, but more is required to keep the 4" ball from going through so you
have to be careful of the end posts. Take your cable count and multiply by the tension in each cable and you get the load the
end post is seeing 24/7. If you do not use a bottom rail you need two more cables getting into the caution range for this
system. We often place end post inserts made from flat stock welded into a beam when we are doing a "no bottom rail" system
and have had no problems in doing so.
Keep in mind that some jurisdictions do not allow anything horizontal. So check before you install.
A. We have been using either 1/8" or 3/16" cable (prefer 1/8") with the Alumarail 200 series frame and prefer to use grommets
in the holes, some do not. If using the nylon grommets we offer, drill 3/8" holes in all mid and corner posts.
End posts (careful here since corner posts might become end posts) are better if a smaller hole is drilled in
the post were the threaded side of the stud resides to keep it from moving around too much if you are planning
on cutting the studs which will mark up the paint with all the movement. A 1/4" clearance hole is fine for those
holes.
B. On corners where the cable is going on around you should offset the inside holes to increase the cable turning radius.
Draw in plan view two posts on a corner in full scale and you can easily see that we are talking about here. It changes the
normal 45 degree exit from one post and entry into the other by over 10 degrees making tensioning the cable much easier.
Be careful here since the two post corners could be end posts as mentioned elsewhere in this page and drilled differently.
C. Weep Holes...some small amount of water can get into the posts through the cable holes and you must figure for that in all
climates especially freezing ones. We drill a 3/16" hole in the post just above the base on the side away from the wind in most
cases and try to make that side the one easiest to clean out when needed. (Not on the outside face of the post 40 ft. off the ground!)
If using a bottom rail you have a vertical gap to fill where glass might normally go, but with cable. This height varies (36" to 42"
railing system) and we recommend to space cable 1" less than local code gaps allowed for normal railing systems which is 4" in our area
to 5 or 6 in other areas. Some even have a 2" rule for the first cable off the deck. With a 200 series bottom rail you will find that
9 cables works well.
This is the really hard part. We have done nearly 100 ft. with 1/8" cable in one run without problems, but
recommend staying in the 60 to 70 ft. range when possible. It all really depends on the number of corners,
angle changes, natural stopping places such as walls, stairs, odd elevation changes etc. Each job is different.
With the aluminum systems be aware of thermal movement which is more prevalent with darker colors and areas of
the country with the warmest temperatures and largest temperature swings. Aluminum expands at twice the rate of
stainless. More detail will be here later. We take this into consideration when we tension cable.
All runs of cable from us are labeled by the notation on the drawings we do here ourselves or get from
customers such as Alumarail. We prefer lettered runs such as from A-D and M-N etc. because it lets you the customer
know the exact area for the cable and can place the coiled cable on the deck in that area to reduce on-site
time. They are grouped either for the entire run or a partial such as 4 of 8 in case the runs are a bit long.
Hint: Don't open more cable then you plan on doing for that particular run or you will have a mess on the deck.
Pay attention to the ends of the cable and your starting point before you open the cable coils.
It is also helpful if you place scrap wood or whatever across the deck if the cable wants to drop into the cracks
while working with it. Easy to pull and kink the cable if things get out of hand.
Be sure to lubricate the threads on the stud. Stainless likes to seize if not properly lubricated.
Most of your cable runs will probably use the CA1010 that has a stud on both ends. Pick an end of the railing framing
to start with which is dictated by which end you want to work on to cut the cable and install the fittings. Start installing
the cable with the raw end on usually the second post. Pull the cable through all the posts and out the last post putting
grommets if used on as you go in all mid posts and corner posts if not end posts by pressing them in the post after the cable
has gone through. When the cable is loosely installed put the split grommets in the end posts on the cable side only if using
1/8" cable and then push the fittings through the end post. Install a washer, some grease and a nut on the factory installed stud
leaving usually about 1/8" of thread showing. This varies with experience and the run of cable.
Next go to the other end of the run making sure the cable is not crossed and that when pulling on each cable that is straight and
free of branches, etc. Pull the cable through the other end post and cut the cable at or near the entry point in the post. Different
post sizes will change the "Cut Point" on the cable. You want about 1/2" of stud showing after hand crimping the stud. A little thinking
needed here. The following link shows this in process on a job where the bottom of the cable hole in the stud was marked with tape to
show where to cut the cable. Photo showing judging where to cut cable. A little experience shows that
with a post of Alumarail's size (2-3/8") the cut point is near the entry side of the post. This varies with post size and experience if you
don't want to cut off the threaded studs when done, but if you cut too short you will need to buy another cable.
Hint: Cut only one cable and check with stud pushed onto cable to see where you might come out after crimping. If things are OK,
go ahead with the rest in that run, but still do one at a time, cut, crimp on the end and insert in post with washer, grease and install nut.
Finger tighten before cutting the next cable. This will keep you out of trouble most of the time.
The link here Railing Parts Photo will take you to a separate page showing all the railing parts to compare
with your shipping documentation. Click the "Back" button to return to this page or the return link to the QA page.
The link here Railing Corners Photo will take you to a separate page showing three different angles for
corners used with the large top rail and the new oval top rail. Be careful here since the corners must be within less than
2 degrees of either 45 or 90 for them to work otherwise the straight run and the welded corner can appear out of alignment. You can
shorten the corner to reduce the affect. If too bad, you will have to go to the welded internal splice joint and miter the painted outer
top rail. We can order a specially made outer painted corner, but there is a wait time and they are a lot more expensive that the
standard 90 and 45 corner. We can cut and weld the internal non-painted corner here in our facilities. Another caution here is that the corners are normally about 8" on the inside of each leg and not using them requires
more top rail the you have to miter the ends to match up using the internal splice joint. We have had cases where posts were placed
incorrectly resulting in a change in post centers and angles misread both of which cause problems with the amount of top rail you might
need and they are normally shipped in 20 ft. lengths, not something one can easily UPS quickly. The next section on "Railing Splice Joints"
will help with understanding the above.
This page shows the splice joint and how it is installed within the top rail. Splice Joints.
The section just above shows a slightly angled internal splice joint which is what we would weld for your special angle. The painted
top rail sections as shown below that splice joint are what you would have to do in the field to match the welded angle. It takes some
care to do a clean mitered joint in the field. We initially did not like them for use with cable considering the loads imposed with
cable tension, but with them properly done, we have not heard of any problems.
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