We're thinking about putting glass railings on our new deck. Anyone have them? Any concerns especially considering Iowa weather? TIA
Glass deck railing
- Thread starter 1100011CS
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Ask Jamie if you can have the railings that used to separate the Sukup from the others
Pain in the butt to keep clean, when the sun shines through you can see the dirt and it stops all wind from flowing through. You have to get tempered glass in case someone hits it, or you bump into it which adds to the costs.
They look great, but I wouldn't do it.
Assuming you're trying to minimize obstructions between you and a nice view, we considered glass but ended up going with a cable railing system for the same reason. There are some nice looking horizontal cable railing systems but they can be quite pricy depending on your project. We went with Westbury VertiCable sections. If you do this, I recommend black as the white sections show dirt.
Agree on the dirty comments. Our deck is under trees, and glass would look good for about 30 minutes.
It's not a magnifying glass. The sun will heat the deck the same directly as through glass. That said, lack of air movement could be an issue.
Definitely tempered glass and I don't think it will get too dirty since it's pretty high off the ground and not much for trees in the area. But something to consider for sure.
If you go with glass, treat them a couple times a year (at least) with an automotive product of your choice thats designed to keep windshields clean (most have ceramic in the name these days). Then get windex or other brand window cleaner that you attach to a garden hose to clean them in between.
Agree with @LeaningCy and his comment on cable railings. Both the cable railing and the glass railings are nice options. I did glass as my house is quite contemporary. I've not had that much trouble keeping it clean but it is not a second story deck so it is pretty accessible.
I purchased and installed the system myself 20 years ago. Without looking it up I think it was Deck Images. I carpentered for a bit in a previous lifetime and am pretty handy and didn't have too much trouble with that. Had to measure and order the tempered glass separately. I opted for quite thick 3/8". Think code was 1/4" but the 3/8" looked better and more robust than 1/4". Code or no code, the 1/4" just looked too flimsy.
I purchased and installed the system myself 20 years ago. Without looking it up I think it was Deck Images. I carpentered for a bit in a previous lifetime and am pretty handy and didn't have too much trouble with that. Had to measure and order the tempered glass separately. I opted for quite thick 3/8". Think code was 1/4" but the 3/8" looked better and more robust than 1/4". Code or no code, the 1/4" just looked too flimsy.
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It's ~8ft off the ground so shouldn't be an issue but I probably will anyway if we go with glass.
The company we're looking at includes the glass but I think it's 1/4" and our deck builder included labor for rail install in bid.
ngl, with the wind we get out here my first thought was deck furniture blowing through it.
I would definitely go with LeaningCy’s suggestion of the horizontal cable. (I wouldn’t do vertical) Zero maintenance and probably gives you everything you’re looking for.
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That's #2 on our list of options right now. Probably going to depend on the price difference