Need help on a carpentry idea.

tanstaafl72555

tanstaafl72555

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I am building a deck. Here is the progress so far:

deck3.jpeg


deck2.jpeg

deck1.jpeg
Decided to do the barrier out of steel wire, but the kits to do so are not in stock locally. I was ordering online and would finish doing the railing when they arrive. Because of this, the railing posts are NOT secure, but held in place by normal 3 inch deck screws, with an angle iron at the base. Will cinch down and replace cap when the wire arrives.

However, I am now taking a different route.

I am moving the railing posts in so that they are not attached to the outside of the deck at all (structural integrity is easier that way with the metal plates and heavy screws). I had been planning to do the cable railing, but had a burst of creativity/genius, and thought "why don't you cut down some hog fencing, paint it, put it in a frame with a routed channel, staple it in with electrical staples and use that?" I was so proud of myself with "coming up" with that idea, until I searched it and found out what I should have known:

All the good thoughts have already been thunk!

There are actually prebuilt projects where people sell prebuilt panels from this! Pinterest is full of them and Home Depot sells them premade. I shoulda known. Nevertheless, it is several hundred dollars cheaper to diy so I am going to impress my wife and do it myself (the benefits to that are GREAT!).

Here is my question: I am going to build a frame by just building a rectangle of 2x2 and routing a channel down the center so the panel will snug inside. My thought of using electrical staples to attach is to the frame is bothering me a little. Does anyone have an idea for what might be a better way to secure these (trimmed down) panels to the frame?

My biggest area of concern is on the stair railing. I am thinking as well of just cutting strips of wood on a table saw to act as filler between the wire strands on the straight portions If I want to keep the ambiance that of straight squares, I could see the railings on the stairs as a problem

I hope my question is clear. If you have references to other forums that might focus on woodworking ideas please feel free to redirect. Thanks in advance.
 
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I would recommend turning a 2x4 on edge, like you have under your top rail cap. About 3.5 to 4 inches up from your deck floor. Then use some fence staples to attach the hog wire panels. Like in this picture, except with your panels on the outside. Unless you want to move your 2x4's that you already have attached. The reason I wouldn't use a 2x2 with a groove is that groove will catch and hold water.
 
If you decide to build your own wire panels, keep in mind that most building codes require that openings in a deck railing should be no larger than 4" (or should not allow a sphere larger than 4" in diameter to pass through).1000010917.jpg
 
I always just rip a pt 2x4, "picture frame" your opening, cut hog wire to fit and sandwich the wire with the other half. Hand rail as wide as your posts. Done and done.

If working alone I will put one or two staples in just to hold the wire in place but in my experience the pressure of the two sides doesn't let it slip (at least one screw on each end specifically placed to just under the wire is insurance)

If you want to use a bottom 2x to set the wire on and to hold it up and add some stiffness make sure you add several drain holes.

Also recommend adding a block in the center from deck to bottom board. Adds stiffness and prevents sagging.
 
I did a fence a couple years ago with coated hog wire. We built each frame to fit inside of post to inside of post and then stapled the wire to the frame with a Max staple gun and used 16 gauge stainless staples. Then made an identical frame and screwed the two frames together sandwiching the wire in-between the two frames. I also used a 2x4 flat ways on top all the way around. The rest of the frame was 2x4 and stainless screws. I am at the coast so depending on where you are you can save some money and use galvanized staples and exterior rated screws.
 
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