Cable Railing FAQ page
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Listed below are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the use of cable in deck and walkway railings
on residential and commercial applications. We have made a list with links to this same page. You
may simply scroll down through the answers at the bottom of the page or use the
links below to take you to the same spots further down the page. Click on the questions below and the question with answer will pop to the
top of the page. If you see a link to a photo or another page and use it just
use the "Back" button to return to this page.
List of FAQ's on this page.
You can install the cable in any style of post, but need to be aware of the the additional issues that cable creates with use
in a conventional type of framing system. (See Note below) We most often see wood, steel, stainless steel, aluminum or a mixture
where you might use metal posts with a wooden top rail or a wooden cap for the metal top rail which can look very nice.
The posts could be square or round profile and the metal ones could be flame or laser cut from flat stock in a fancy profile for
places such as restaurants or other high profile applications. The issue moves quickly to the strength of the posts especially
the end posts that take the stress when tightening the cables.
Note:
As of October of 2006 we are telling customers to be aware of concerns with the use of composite posts and horizontal
members such as top and bottom rails used in normal deck railing applications. Current products with which we have had contact with
their personnel are "Trex" and "Correct Deck". Weyerhauser has not responded to requests about "Choice Wood" which is sold by Lowes
and other outlets. There is a structural issue with the end posts, thermal expansion issues with the horizontal members (see technical
areas of these manufacturers web sites) and warranty issues when you drill holes in the posts allowing the cable and or fittings to
pass through. We also caution using any plastic extruded items due to the same issues.
You need to work from a set of drawings or sketches drawn in plan (bird's eye)
view and elevation (side) view if there are stairs or any changes in the deck
levels such as steps up or down between levels or to the ground as is pretty
common. The cable assemblies we show such as CA1010, CA1020, etc. are designed
for your use to run as long as possible to reduce the number of fittings that
you would have if you stopped and started the cable at every turn. As an example
if you could save one stop and start on a cable run such as at a 45 or 90 degree
corner you would save from 16 to 20 end fittings on a residential project (8 x 2
or 10 x 2 since each cable end would need a fitting). Typically we use 8 to 10
cables on a residential application and 12 to 13 on a commercial application
because of the higher 42" requirement for the top rail to be above the deck or
walkway. Do this over several corners or several projects and you can
easily add up the savings. To get a little more technical, the different cable
will stretch when tightening or with later abuse. We prefer to use a 1-19
construction as much as possible because of that especially with the 1/8" cable.
For that reason we recommend that for lengths of up to approx. 80 ft. max. use
use at least two adjusters as on the CA1010. It has a threaded stud with over
1-1/2" of adjustment at each end. The CA1020 and others with only one threaded
stud should be limited to no more that 50 ft. and both of these recommendations
depend on the number of angular changes the cable makes. If some applications
get a little difficult we will recommend using a turnbuckle somewhere in the run
to assist in tensioning especially if you have turns, arcs, etc. Each project
needs to be looked at and planned. Some are really simple and others take a
little head scratching to figure out. Some are large and some are small, but all
can look very nice when done. A little planning and attention to detail can go a
long way to make your home or project the best around. If you send us drawings,
please be sure to include all dimensional data and number or letter each end,
corner post, upper and lower stairway post. That way we can discuss cable runs
from say "A"to "B" or "D" to "M", etc.and makes understanding the layout much easier.
We are using mostly 1/8" and 3/16" cable for these uses in a construction called 1 x 19 and an alloy of 316
marine grade stainless steel. We find these sizes easy to work with, strong and the 1 x 19 has less
stretch than the ones with finer wires such as a 7x7 or 7x19.
There are large variety of fittings available. We are showing one brand for the 1/8 and 3/16" cable and have
others for more specialized needs. The pricing pages show pretty good details of the
cable assemblies we find the most common to a railing system. There are even
more simplified ways of adding cable to a railing system such as stop sleeves,
eyes with Nico-Press sleeves, etc., but they all need some way to tighten the cable. Call us for more
details. A drawing of what you are working with is a great help to us in helping you plan your deck. Digital photos
are a great help too especially with elevation changes and stairs.
We set up a web page to better show what we are talking about. Click on the link here Hand crimped fittings
and use the "Back" button to return to the FAQ page or you can use the FAQ link added to the top and bottom of the page.
We use and supply stainless nuts, washers, bolts, lags, etc. with the cable
assemblies and stainless anchors for the post to the deck when using our
aluminum system or stainless system.
Almost of the aluminum railings systems are being powder coated, a sprayed powder which is then baked
into a smooth durable finish. Some are wet coated with automotive paints and look and wear well also. Steel
is usually powder coated, but you need to pay attention to the interior of the steel posts since you are
drilling holes for the cable. Most are usually galvanized. Don't forget to add weep holes on all posts and
other water collection points. Some aluminum can be dyed especially the laser or plasma cut units which can
add a unique touch to an upscale project. Stainless in a buffed finish is becoming popular.
1. Crimping tool for the field installed cable end fittings.
2. Cable cutting tool, one that keeps the cable in a round profile so it can fit into the endfitting easily.
3. Gauge to check the crimps.
4. A tension gauge to check the tension as you make your adjustements.
We can sell you the cable for your wooden or metal framed system or supply the entire system for you in most
cases. Each project is unique even when using similar cable assemblies. We are happy to work with homeowners
doing their own projects, a contractor interested in expanding into cable or larger projects where we work with
architects and their local metal fabricators bidding on their projects. Recently sent a 1/4" stainless cable package
with special end fittings for use in a school in Oregon.
There are some of the popular aluminum railing systems that work well with cable, but special attention to the
end post is necessary for strength. Even steel systems need some special attention. We see designs that could
be better. Stainless is another issue and is becoming popular where stainless posts are used with a wooden
top rail for both interior and exterior projects. Steel can work well in the same setting and there is no rusting
issue if used on the interior. The horizontal members are usually the longest items and are hard to ship because of that.
For that reason we see an interest in stainless posts and cable shipped from us with the wooden top rails being purchased locally.
The look is new, unique and the sanded and buffed stainless posts blend into almost any surrounding.
1. It all starts with basic deck design and where you place the posts.
2. End Posts away from the house. Generally if the end posts were away from the house about 2-1/2 to 3" you can use a threaded stud through
the post and tighten up between the post and house. If the post is tight to the house you need a surface mount
such as the CA1040 or CA1050. If you need an adjuster at that end add a turnbuckle as in CA1060 or CA1070. Surface
mounts are more expensive especially if you need a turnbuckle.
3. Two Post corners. If two post corners are used and you can choose to either stop and start the cable or go on around the corner.
You can go around only so many corners depending on the total angle change in any given run. Each job is a little different. In addition
to that a single post 90 deg. corner sees a resultant cable load of approx. 140% of the end post load.
4. Cable spacing 1" less than your local codewhen measuring vertically.
5. Unsupported cable no more than 4 ft. in most cases. Could be a structural post or a ligher spreader between posts.
This can vary with height off ground and local code issues.
6. Adequate top rail to handle the compressive loads of the combined cable loads on end posts.
7. Post system to handle cable loads. Is a little different than working with normal railing systems. Recommend to not use
composite materials (Trex, etc.) for posts or top rail due to strength issues and thermal expansion.
8. Think things through, measure twice, cut once.
9. Being too short is not good in the cable business. We almost always want you to have 1 or 2 more ft. than you measured.
10. Adequate Tension to keep cables in place. A little vague in most cases.
11. Lettering the cable run. In your correspondence with us it helps a great deal if when you send a sketch or drawing, it has
the starting point labeled "A", the second point say a corner "B", head of stairs "C" etc. all down the deck edge. It makes it
much easier to discuss cable runs over the phone or via E-Mail.
12. Stay alert when stairs or deck level changes are involved. They almost always need more thought before placing posts.
13. Thanks for taking the time to read through some of our website information.
1. Remember, if we can not read a blurred fax or understand sketchy information we can not easily respond to your needs.
2. What are you looking for: such as a cable package for your posts system, aluminum posts, stainless posts, or?
3. A simple line drawing clearly showing the deck area and it's relation to the house with clear dimensional information is a must.
4. Is your deck waterproof like a membrane, concrete or have a coating or is it more normal wood or composite?
5. Digital photos are very common now and only a few well chosen shots along with a drawing usually tell us what your project needs.
6. Clear contact information is essential: Name, phone number, fax number, address and e-mail and how you prefer that we respond to you.
Example: We get requests to price 100 ft. of cable railing and don't have any idea of how the cable lays out or if it one run of
100 ft. or 10 runs of 10 ft. which uses 10 times the number of fittings and subsequent costs. Your location helps a lot when figuring
shipping costs. We are south of Seattle and shipping to Oregon, south Florida or upstate NY varies a lot in time and dollars.
7. If sending an e-mail please include a distinctive word or words in the subject matter like "Cable railings quote request" and know what
shows up on a recepients e-mail listing in the "From" column (We use Microsoft Outlook). Let us know the date sent if you can when calling.
Finding e-mails among hundreds on any given day can be a daunting task if we don't know what to look for in the "From", "Subject" or "Date"
columns.
8. We also get very busy and can fail to respond especially to requests that are difficult to understand or simply from data overload.
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