Installing a Synthetic Railing System

By Kathy Ziprik

Add curb appeal the easy way with a DIY-friendly railing kit.

Contractor Steve Roth recently purchased an old single-family home in Ohio to transform into a duplex. The original home featured a small rear entryway with a crumbling concrete step.

With a vision in mind for a more spacious, family-friendly exterior, Roth exchanged the single entry with a double French door to add light into the home and provide fast access to a new deck. Installed in just one afternoon, the composite deck and rail system is made to last with minimal upkeep.

Roth constructed the 8-by-14-foot deck on top of a concrete base with a wood subfloor. He added a QuickRail synthetic railing system with newel posts from Fypon on top of the deck and Fypon urethane moulding to trim out and finish the project.

“My research showed that the multi-layered PVC composite formula in the QuickRail system stands up to harsh weather,” says Roth. “The system comes with a white finish that never needs painting and the product will never decay, warp, fade, chip, splinter or rust. That’s the kind of easy-maintenance product I wanted on this house.”

For the project, Roth selected the 36-inch high QuickRail rail kit with square spindles and used six 6-foot kits. Each kit includes the top and bottom rails, spindles, brackets, crush block and stainless steel screws. The company also has 8-, 10- and 12-foot kits. A stair kit, used to connect the rail system to steps leading to the back yard, includes similar products. For this project, two stair kits with slopes of 30 degrees were used. Fypon offers the stair kits to accommodate 24- through 40-degree slopes.

To unite the rail segments and establish the outline for the rail system, Roth first installed the QuickRail newel posts. Each QuickRail post kit contains a 4-by-4-inch square post, structural post mount, post kit base, taper cap, threaded rod, 3-by-3-inch square plate with 1/2-inch hole, and a variety of appropriate washers, lock washers, hex nuts and stainless screws to complete the installation.

Prior to starting the project, Roth pulled together the tools recommended by the manufacturer: tape measure, circular saw, power miter saw, screwdriver, cordless drill, wrench, level and protective eyewear.

“There were no surprises or real challenges to this project,” says Roth. “It’s really a quick and easy project and I can see any homeowner tackling this with professional results.”