deck railings

[cj]

greetings, i would like to know at what height from the ground does one need to put railings around a deck. i am replacing an existing deck that is rotting away and the old deck had railings around it. i would like to drop the deck down so as to not put any railings around it ( the railings block my view of the backyard from my living room). i understand that codes differ from one municipality from another but i am guessing that they are not that different.i really dont want to call my local building inspector and get them nosing around so i thought i'd ask the folks in this forum. thanks, cj

[Edwin Pawlowski]

.i really dont want to call my

It does not matter what any of us think. Last summer we were doing some work for a tenant to move into one of our buildings. According to the generally accepted codes, the deck needs no railing and no stair rail. The building inspector did not care what the code said, he did not care what anyone on a newsgroup would say, he wanted both. He got both.

Call the inspection office. You don't have to give a name, just ask what the code is.

Your choice is to ignore the code (won't be a problem unless you sell) and take your chances. If someone falls and gets hurt what will your excuse be? "Oh, the guys on the newsgroups aid it would be OK" OTOH, the code also calls for tight spacing of the balusters. They do block the view. I'd look at putting a rail, less balusters and then add more if you decide to sell the house.