After 19 years in our home, the insurance company has decided we need a railing on our front porch. Nobody had ever fallen off, but I guess they're getting a little more picky after the recent disasters they've been paying for - or paying the lawyers to avoid paying for :-).
Anyway, I'm going to make the posts from 4x4s, notched to fit over the edge of the porch. Two inches thickness on the porch leaving 1.5" thickness for attaching to the joists.
The notched joists are common in our area and look a lot better than a full
4x4 on the edge. But it seems to me that leaning on the rail with sufficient weight would tend to start a split at the end of the notch. I'm thinking of running a 3" screw or lag bolt into the post, or maybe a through bolt, just above the notch to guard against this. Will this work as I think it will?