Attaching wooden lats to a metal balcony rail

[Andy]

What is the best way to attach pine wooden balcony lats ( 11 cms wide

90 cms high and 2 cms thick) to a metal tube railing/frame (3 cms x cms, about 70 cms apart from top to bottom). The balcony is long an goes round half the house, about 30 meters. The metal frame has bee treated with rust proof paint and 2 coats of brown metal paint. Th wood lats have been treated with anti mould and 2 coats of exterio wood protector.

Is it best to:

1. Screw on a long horizontal wooden lat ( 3 cms wide, 1.5 cm thic and 30 meters long) on the outside of the frame first, and then t screw on each lat in turn from the outside, wood to wood.
2. Or can I screw the wooden lats directly onto the metal frame usin metal screws, wood to metal. The metal is thick and this will be tim consuming.

Questions:

1. What types of screws should I use? Are there any specific screw intended for just this purpose.
2. Can you glue the lats on first, to make sure they are straight an the gaps between each one is correct and then attach them using th screws.

Any other handy tips or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

And

-- Andy

[Dave]

Andy, I wouldn't drill holes in the metal. It creates places for water to get in and cause corrosion. Additionally, you'd need to be concerned about dissimilar metal reactions between screws and the metail rail.

My suggestion would be to clamp the lats to the posts with U bolts. Make sure the U bolts are large enough to slip around the post. Use stainless steel one if you can get them. If you can't get stainless, use galvanized cleaned very well in vinegar and painted to match the railing.

Cut the U bolts to length so the legs just come through the lats. I would counterbore the holes for flat washers and a jam nut which is thinner than a standard nut. After clamping the lat in place and tightening the jam nuts, go around and cap the ends of the U bolts with an acorn or cap nut.

As far as setting the height and leveling the lats, no glue. It will just make a mess anyway. Make yourself a few gauge blocks from some scrap wood. These can be temporarily clamped to the railing to support the lat while you install it. work from the bottom up. Set the lowest lats first, then set the gauge blocks on the lat and install the next run.

Does that stuff make sense?

Dave Andy wrote: