installing cable railings (Chapel Hill: chapel, construction, maintenance)

[car-pen-ter]

What is the code for cable railings in Chapel Hill? the manufacturer says cables should be no more than 3" apart and a post every 3' but that seems like a lot. I want it to be to code and safe but not more than is necessary. the deck is approximately 12' off the ground.

[CHTransplant]

Easiest just to call the town and ask.

[Sherifftruman]

Code pretty much everywhere is that a 4" sphere cannot pass through the rail at any point. Unless your wire is VERY stiff and VERY tight, you probably need to be 3" apart so they don't bend enough to allow that. Plus need to keep the span small.

[ncjeff]

And vertical. I've seen magazine shots of horizontal railings but I recall that that's against code as it provide a climbing surface for a child.

[Sherifftruman]

I don't do residential construction really, but we do solid horizontal multi-line pipe rail often in commercial work so I'm not sure whether horizontal cable would be any different or if it's banned in residential code but I doubt it.

Best thing though is for the poster to call their building department. They should be happy to answer your question.

[MOD]

Appendix M in the Residential code covers decks, but other areas apply as well. Pg 915, figure AM111 is a good summary of the basics:

http://ecodes.biz/ecodes_support/fre...C_Res_2012.pdf

Note it includes both spacing, height, and horizontal loading requirements (you don't want to lean against the rail and have it break). Just about every manufactured railing system sold in the U.S. should be designed around these requirements and state that it meets them in their documentation and installation guidelines.

Horizontal rails are allowed but are a concern for some. I would consider horizontal cable rails better than solid because they're a bit wobbly to climb on. A small child is most likely to climb one or two then fall backward.

I'll also note that there are huge differences in the durability and quality of the various cable rail systems that are out there. The worst and cheapest are frequently a maintenance nightmare as the cables work their way out of the fittings over time. In general I avoid cable rail unless the client demands it.

[car-pen-ter]

Thanks. That's what I was looking for.