Architectural Fence -

[Philip Berman]

I needed a railing for the back edge of my deck which has a 3-foot drop. It took me 7 years to find a design that would give me the look I wanted - I know that there were no Federal-style decks, but the house is Federal style and I've been expanding on that by adding more architectural detail than that of a 1985-built house. I found the design in a fencing surrounding a house in Salem, MA and even found architectural drawings online of the fence from the Library of Congress. I made a few design changes, resized for my purposes, created the plan in Sketchup and then started building. The cutlist add-on was invaluable, as there were a LOT of parts. Vertical and horizontal members were gang-cut, diagonals each needed to be hand-fitted, and the whole thing is held together with a combination of 1/2-laps and 18ga brads, all with glue. Wanting to keep the expense under control, I selected doug fir 2X material from HomeDepot, milling and cutting away bad parts. With a bit of time expenditure, being selective about the boards I purchased (2X12's) minimized the unusable. Also helping that was the fact that I had a LOT of small pieces to be cut, so even the occasional knot really didn't result in a whole lot of waste. Posts (6x6's that were built into the deck structure and have been standing there alone for all these years) were wrapped in MDO and the caps were just a lot of moldings built up, using mostly doug fir. Everything was built in the shop - posts, caps, panels, everything was painted before assembly including caulking all joints, and then all put together outside. Hard to see from the pics, but I added 2 lantern-style lights to the 2 and 4th posts, lighting which was much needed. Criticism is welcomed and encouraged.

Thanks for looking

Philip

[Tom Sontag]

Well Phil, since you are encouraging criticism, let me ask you why you did not have Cole hold up some nice blue background cloth so we could see the lanterns? Or perhaps you should have photoshopped the leaves to make an autumnal look for contrasting background that would pop the fence AND the lanterns.

While I am at it, who knew your shop had such a steep slope?

Awesome fence. Did it take more than a weekend?

[Steve Kohn]

I really hate to ask you this since it is such a good looking railing. Did you happen to ask what the building code says about fencing? Many municipalities don't allow horizontal slats on a railing. It becomes a ladder for children to climb over and fall off.

[David Thompson 27577]

It's gorgeous!

I've seen many railings done in a chippendale style that were also done with 2X material. In general, I've thought that most of them looked too 'heavy'. I now realize that the heavy feeling was actually a feeling of wrong proportions -- the vast majority of those railings were done with 4X4 posts, and mealy little post caps. Your use of bold post size, and caps bordering on the extreme, is absolute genius.

[Philip Berman]

I appreciate the compliments. In looking at drawings and photos I soon realized that skimpy posts weren't going to cut it. I've always been fascinated by the detail of these things and actually found a great source for historical pieces at the Library of Congress online. I also have several books on Federal style that led me to what you see. I love the look, the solid boundary it creates, and that with the planting behind it's always a dark backdrop for the bright white. It's not code-compliant, I'm aware. I don't have kids, and old people won't fit through the spaces. Anyone else, you're on your own.

Thanks again for your comments.

Philip

[Philip Berman]

it's not compliant. It's rare that kids are here, and never are they unattended because the pool is just 20 feet away. Calculated risk - it's what I wanted, there was no compromise that would have maintained the integrity of style and be within the code, and the drop-off behind the rail is mostly 12". No one can get into the area uninvited, as that's surrounded by 6-ft tall, code-compliant fencing with locks on all gates. If some kid does indeed climb over, they're going to fall into a nice soft bed of giant hostas and other assorted plant materials.

Philip

[Philip Berman]

Night photo to come, as soon as I locate the camera. It did take longer than a weekend to build, but not that much longer. Milling the wood and cutting took one whole day, one very tiring, long, strenuous, tedious day. Most of each panel went together like Lincoln Logs, what with the half-laps having already been cut. Diagonals took some trimming but even that wasn't bad. Post wraps are mitered and glued MDO, the caps took the longest because there are about 15 pieces of molding (which I made) stacked together to make the whole unit, all of which also needed to be mitered. Final assembly was easy - slip the post-wrap over the posts, set the panel on the base molding, adjust for plumb & level, and drive pocket screws (for which I had made the pockets during assembly). A bit of caulk, a bit of touchup paint, and it was done.

[Harry Hagan]

Building codes exist not only for the benefit of the current owner; but their visitors and subsequent owners as well.

A house down the street recently sold but not until a recently remodeled deck had been brought up-to-code. The previous owner had ignored building codes when redoing the deck because, “I thought it looked better my way.” He incurred a hefty fine for not getting it inspected, a fine for code violations and also the expense of hiring someone who knew what they were doing to “bring it up-to-code” at the insistence of the buyer.

[Philip Berman]

Coming up with a design that was both true to the style AND code compliant was impossible. I assure you that I fully understand the cost and am fully able and willing to bear that cost. As to future owners, they have to take their own responsibility for risk assessment/mitigation/value. There is no hidden risk, it's out in the open for any and all to see and they'll have to deal with it as fits their lifestyle (kids/no kids, etc.). As to my guests, they know that regardless of what peril may exist on the other side of that fence (moat with alligators? fire-breathing dragon?) it couldn't possibly be as bad as my wrath if I ever find their kid climbing my beautiful fence, so it just won't happen.