Yes, there is a DIY cable railing system for wood decks. We have installed a few kinds of cable railing systems, and this was the easiest so far. Below, find out what you need to know about the RailFx Express Mount Bracket system and watch the video to see how to install it.
Top Line Summary
- Express Mount makes cable railing for wood deck budgets an accessible upgrade
- Non-wood baluster/rail systems take 75 percent of the pinch points out of maintaining a wood deck
- The Express Mount Bracket cable railing installation design is smart and simple
- Video: How we installed RailFx Express Mount Cable Railing on a wood deck project
RailFx Express Mount Bracket Cable Railing for Wood Decks
I enjoy building wood decks. They’re not perfect. They’re not plastic. They’re not boiling hot. They don’t need umpteen costly framing interventions to accommodate composite “shiners” if it’s not laid dead flat. Wood decks feel right.
Why Choose a Wood Deck
Wood decks are not nosebleed expensive either, which serves my market. And even though I’ve heard the same lament “the treated wood these days is terrible” since I started working with pressure-treated lumber building docks and swim floats on Cape Cod after the actual Perfect Storm, about 30+-years ago, wood decks are alive and well.
I also enjoy the inevitable smiles when my customers walk out onto the deck for the first time. “We love our deck” is a common refrain. I know, I’m a dweeb, and not a heartless capitalist (I am), but here we are.
I’m also well aware of the cohort of deck builders who swear off wood. That’s fine. I’m also aware that my job as a deck building contractor is to build the decks my customers want built, not the one I pre-determine they should have. Maybe that’s naive, but so far it is working pretty well.
While all decks need to be maintained–I just looked at a PVC guardrail today caked in mold and algae–composite is a lot easier. That said, the real pinch point with maintaining wood decks is the balusters, or what I call the “vertical elements”. 2×2 wood balusters are ghastly to service. They also have mass that makes interaction with the back yard more of a barrier than an entry point and many customers ask about integrating cable railing into their wood decks. Once I tell them the line item, that has gone out the window. Until now.
About this DIY Cable Railing System
Finally there is a DIY cable railing system that is affordable, too. RailFx Express Mount Bracket System brings us to a vector between decks-on-a-budget and “holy shi+ I can afford cable railing?!”
RailFx’s new Express Mount Bracket system is purpose-built for wood decks. A typical cable rail system with surface-mounted steel posts, blocking, complicated “drink rail” on a 20×16 deck is about $10,000. Express Mount brackets are about ? of that. Still easily double other more basic rail systems, but also quadruple the long-term value.
From an installation perspective, it deploys the RailFx cable hardware system–which we like compared to another we have installed–and uses an innovative installation system we find simple and elegant.
Another cool thing about the system is that it can be retrofitted into what we call a resurface or “re-skin.”
Long story short, we’re fans. This system works and the client is thrilled.
Watch How To Install this Cable Railing on a Wood Deck
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