We are on Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) here on the west coast south of Seattle in Tacoma, WA. We are talking to people in 7 different time zones from Maine to Hawaii which makes phone contacts interesting so we need to know your state to time our callbacks to you if needed for more information on your project. We don't want to get you out of bed in the morning or wake you up in the late evening! Our normal hours of operation are 8-5 M-F, and 8-1 on Sat. PDT, but are normally here later in the evenings and have the phone forwarded on weekends if not in the office catching up on things.

We are happy to discuss your project, but almost always like to have a drawing and or digital photos of what you are considering. Makes it a lot easier if you want to discuss more than generalities. Map location is on link to the right. Map of 2511 Holgate St Tacoma, WA 98402-1202, US

Architects: Auto Cad drawings are OK, but don't ZIP them in one large file. PDF files are great!

E-mail , is another way to contact us along with drawings and attached photos. Please use terms such as "Cable Railing" in the "Subject" line of your e-mail to us and not use as a subject "Help" , "We need help", "Please call for ......or worse .......    We get at least 150 spam mails a day causing problems on this end.

Unwanted e-mail (Spam) has gotten out of hand as of late 2006 and some valid incoming messages could easily be lost, erased by us in error or blocked by our web site hosting service. We are seeing more messages sent to customers from us not getting through and learn that more are adding "Firewalls" for incoming e-mails and we can't get through. If you have a firewall and want a response please make sure that you authorize us to get through. Currently our e-mail address is bakerm@cablerailings.com     .

Drawings should have clear dimensions and the areas where you are planning railings highlighted so we can easily see the scope of the project. Keep in mind that you are there looking at a project and we have no knowledge of what you are doing until shown or told the details. Clear data is more important than a fancy drawing. If you letter all starting points, turns and elevation changes then we can quickly start discussing cable runs from say A to B or M to R, etc. This makes understanding the cable runs MUCH easier for all parties. Adding some contact information is very helpful such as state, (ME, HI, etc.) and a phone number. A lot of information can be send back and forth with e-mails, but at some point some personal contact is necessary to keep on the right track and stay focused. Please use subject line in your e-mail to us and say something like "Railings" or "Cable Questions". We get a lot of spam and we could erase (delete) your request for information pretty easily if we don't know what it is.

Faxing is another way, but remember that at least 1/2" around the edge is always blanked out and if information is not drawn with a dark pen or pencil the information can be very hard to read. A straight edge is a great help too along with some scale such as 1/8" or 1/4" to one foot of deck edge.

Photos are a big help for us to get an idea of what is going on. We get a lot of attached digital photos from customers. They are especially helpful if stairs are involved which are always an area of additional concern when considering angles, post placement, etc. Changes in deck level such as one or two steps can cause problems if not done right. Contact us before you set the posts!! If we can't find or don't receive the information, we can not give an accurate quote. We are happy to work with your general contractor, sub contractor or family members involved in the work and will contact them as you wish if you include appropriate names and contact data. We file by NAME such as "Jones Construction" or for a private party simply "Smith" during initial phase until we assign a Work Order Number. Then we file by the sequential Work Order Number such as 07-255, etc.. It is very helpful to us if you suggest what you are looking for such as "Cable with fittings only", "Metal posts and cable" and what kind of materials such as aluminum or stainless posts along with top or side mounted attachments. Give us all the detail you can think of. Too much is better than too little. Can use all contact data you want to give so we can reduce the telephone tag and subsequent delays. E-mail is great, but can be easily erased. Being too pointed is fine with us. If we don't respond in a timely fashion, ring our bell. E-mails get lost, files get mis-filed and even the best systems break down. Also generally faxed photos usually do not come through clear enough to understand what is going on.

Summary: If we can't read your fax or understand your drawings we may not be able to respond in a timely fashion or possibly not at all!

revised 10/12/07