Deck railing

[Joe Von Kaenel]

Hello,

I am building a deck of treated wood. I have 4x4 posts all the way around the perimeter. I am going to use premade railings form Lowe's Item #: 66981. The top and bottom rails are made of treated 2x4 and the balusters are treated 2x2.
My question is: Can I use pockets holes to fasten the rails to the 4x4 posts? ( I have a Kreg pocket hole kit) Will this be a strong joint? Is there anywhere I can buy galvanized pocket hole screws. I really don't want to rely on just toe nailing the rails into the posts. Thanks for the help.

Joe

[Greg Cole]

Predrill (use a combo drill & counter sink sytle bit) and use the appropriate fastener for the treated lumber. I'd most likely use a 3" screw..... or look at the Simpson Z-max style steel brackets.
I'd also look into making the railing sections, there's not alot of work there. When I attach ballusters I predill and use 2 fasteners top n bottom, many of the premade ones are nailed and they will pop loose in a year or less.

There are alot of options here... these are the 2 easist that popped up first.

Greg

[Matt Ocel]

Like Greg says - There are alot of ways to make that conection. Pre-drilliing and using a 3" screw is most cost effective and acceptable. There are mechanical fasteners ie Simpson that work great but may not be eye appealing.
BTW what does big Blue recomend?

[Dave Falkenstein]

I'm in agreement with Greg - make your own railings. I looked at the item on Lowe's but there was no price shown. I suspect you can buy 2X4 and 2X2 stock and make your own railings for lots less than Lowe's charges. And you are not limited to the length that Lowe's chooses to make. In the photo at Lowe's, I cannot see any screws. Railings should be assembled using screws. Screwing the rails to the posts works fine, and I add a 2X6 cap and screw the cap into the top rail and into the posts as well.

Here's a photo of a typical railing style I like to use, made with redwood, on a small deck I built a couple of years ago.