Attaching loft railing

[franz fripplfrappl]

Any suggestions for attaching the ends of a 5 foot railing to keep people from falling out of a loft?

I am planning a railing made of oak.

Thanks.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Screws. It would help though, if you told us what the type of construction is and what you are attaching the ends to..

[aemeijers]

A loft rail is no different than the straight section of rail on the upstairs end of an old-style open staircase, except you don't have a banister to tie to.

Look in the staircase parts aisle. Newel post with the half-lap bottom extension, lagged into the band joist on the loft. (Countersink and cover with dowel pegs, to make it pretty.) Or if you can make a pocket in the framing so you can lag from 2 directions, all the better. Note that you DO NOT want to bolt this through drywall at any point- you want a hard joint with the framing.

Now if this is between 2 walls, it is a lot easier- bury big steel L-brackets in the end of the railing, and lag those to doubled 2x's in the wall, again, without fastening through drywall.

Bolt it all up before you mud, paint, and finish the space. If you can make it wobble, it isn't stiff enough. Make it twice as strong as you think it needs to be- rails over open spaces take a lot of abuse, especially if there are kids around.

aem sends...

[franz fripplfrappl]

Thanks.

[franz fripplfrappl]

The opening is about 9-10 wide with a floor to ceiling center post in the middle. Each opening is then about 5' wide.

There will be two railings.

Each railing will have one end affixed to the enter post which is 6x6 and the other end to the end of a wall which is of 2x6 construction.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If the center post is 6 x 6, I'd put a 3 x 6 on each end to make it look right, extending it to at least railing height. That can easily be anchored into the wall studs and be very secure. Then, depending on what attachment hardware is available, screws or lags into the end post.

While OSHA regulations don't apply to homeowners, they do specify railings should be strong enough to support 200 pounds in any direction. Use a hefty screw. If you have kids, at some point one or more will be standing or sitting on the rail.