Quality is what separates us from other deck builders. After building decks for over 20 years, I’ve made a lot of changes to my designs.
I’ve replaced so many old decks that I get to see the flaws and where the weaknesses in the designs are.
Take handrails, for example. Over the years I’ve found some simple design tweaks that make them stronger and help them last much longer.
This is my current design, and the design I recommend:
The reasoning is in the pickets. They’re installed from the inside, so less sun hits them, and the tops of the pickets are protected from rain. The gap at the bottom keeps water from wicking up and rotting the ends.
I also pre-drill the decking and the pickets. It adds a lot of labor, and most deck builders don’t do it. I’ve seen decking boards crack from one screw to the next, and if you don’t pre-drill there’s always cracking around the screw heads. Cracks cause decking boards to rot sooner.
Another thing is getting the screws flush. Some people think it’s OK to sink the screw down into the board, but that causes rot because it gives water another way in.
Another little trick I’ve learned is to use a router on every cut. Here’s a picture showing how much better it looks:
A handrail should always have two 2x4s at the top and bottom so it doesn’t warp.
Avoid triple beams. If it can be helped, no beam should be more than double. When you put three or more boards together, they rot fast: the middle board stays wet and the beam rots from the inside out.
Don’t run posts from the ground all the way up through the deck and handrail. They warp badly, and it’s impossible to build to code that way because it requires notching too much out of the post. Both members of the outside band have to sit on a post to pass code.
Avoid bolting handrail posts onto the outer band. It may be strong enough to pass code, but it will feel weak and you’ll be able to wiggle it. Handrail posts should be installed inside the deck with blocking around them.
Here is the screen system I prefer. It’s made by Screen Tight and it’s called MiniTrack. It can be installed from the inside.
Here are the handrail brackets I use now:
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