Depending on where you live and what kind of weather you encounter each year, having an outside deck will always require some type of maintenance or upkeep. One of those situations could be when you have rotted and broken deck railings. Outside Deck Railing Repair can be a challenge. Like with my other How To Do Pages, the following DIY is a “keep it simple” but ensure there is enough detail to do the job. I would recommend 2 people to complete this work, but 1 experienced person can do it too. Good luck with your Project!
What You Need To Get Started
- Tape Measure
- Ratchet Set
- Drill – Cordless
- Hammer
- Pry Bar
- Sawzall
- Galvanized Deck Screws
- Caulk/Caulk Gun – Exterior Silicone Paintable
- Safety Glasses
- Pencil
- Level
- Compound Miter Saw
- Wood Filler or Saw Dust/Glue Combo
- Sandpaper – 100 grit
- Paint (Oil Based) or Stain
- L Brackets
- Paint Sprayer – See Helpful Tip below
- Metal T Supports – See Helpful Tip below
- Pre-Assembled Railings Kit – See Helpful Tip below
- Wood Deck Posts (Our Example uses 4 foot Posts) – See Helpful Tip below
Your Outside Deck Railing Repair Is Underway
Before you start on the steps below and working toward getting your outside deck railings fixed, first make sure there are no structural issues with the deck itself and that the floor is solid and sound. Use your level if necessary. Address any problems before you start your project.
After this is complete, you are ready to get rolling!
- Remove all the broken and rotted rails. And any others too, since this job involves replacing them as well and putting in all new ones. Use your hammer, sawzall, and pry bar to get this done.
- Install metal T supports for the new posts. Lag bolt them to the deck using your ratchet set.
- Insert 4 foot posts into the metal T supports and secure plumb with galvanized deck screws. The size of the screw will depend on the hole size of the support.
- Measure the distance in between the posts for the new rails.
- Then cut and install the pre-assembled railing kit using L-Brackets.
- Use caulk, wood fill, or a saw dust/glue combo to fill any gaps between the railings and posts. Sand smooth with 100 grit sandpaper.
- PICTURE of what it looks like to this point is below.
- Now it’s time for staining or painting the finished product! – Make sure to use oil base for the primer and paint. And you can either hand paint or use a sprayer.
Helpful Tips & More For Outside Deck Railing Repair
If you use a sprayer (recommended) for the paint, make sure you take the weather into account. For example, if you have a windy day several issues can occur and the end result is not the way you want it to look. You could have over-spraying, uneven drying, debris can get blown into the paint, etc.
For the Metal T Supports, I recommend using an E-Z Base Black Powder-Coated. In our example (pic shown), our base is designed for 4×4 nominal lumber.
We recommend using pressure-treated wood double V-Groove for your deck posts. It looks sharp and gives your deck some character! Again, our example pic shows how this looks installed.
There are many options for your pre-assembled railings kit. One choice that we really like is a pressure-treated southern yellow pine with aluminum balusters.
Look Out for More DIY Projects
Keep visiting this Page, as I will continue to update it with any valuable tips and suggestions. Also, if you are looking to put up crown molding in a home or office, look no further and learn how to DIY “the right way” RIGHT HERE