In these instances, it might be better to opt for a freestanding deck. Older homes or ones without a true foundation might not be able to provide the structural support needed, as was the case with my friend. Materials like stone or stucco can also be a challenge to attach a deck to. Houses with irregular exterior walls can be difficult to fit with a ledger board. There are a lot of reasons that homeowners might choose a freestanding deck. While most of the requirements remain the same, you’ll need to keep in mind that there's no home connection to anchor your freestanding deck.Ĭoncerns Specific to a Freestanding Deck Railing While I almost always recommend adding a railing, it’s a good idea to remember that there will be additional costs and concerns when you add one onto a freestanding deck. LED lighting wires can be threaded through the posts and hardware and wires can also be hidden inside railing post caps. Space for lighting components: A railing can be a good place to hide LED deck railing lights that can illuminate and delineate your deck edges.That means it must be a minimum of 36 inches Just keep in mind that once you do decide to add a railing, it will have to meet codes set for railings. Children or small animals can be injured by falling even a short distance, and a railing can prevent this. Safety: While your freestanding deck might not technically require a railing (see our post on the maximum deck height you can have without a railing), adding one is always the safest bet.You can also use unique railing designs like curved or ornamented balusters to create a more elaborate A railing helps to frame the design and give it a finished look. An improved aesthetic: A freestanding deck tends to look unfinished without a railing, especially if you choose to put the deck further away from your home.This additional weight can help to increase stability and reduce the chance of wind uplift. Added weight on the perimeter: A railing with some heft will add weight to the perimeter.There are more than a few benefits to a freestanding deck railing, including: He opted to add a railing and it wound up really tying the whole project together. Once we finished building though, he realized that the deck looked unfinished. Initially, my friend didn’t want to add a railing because technically it wasn’t required. Why Adding a Railing Improves Your Freestanding Deck My friend also learned that although putting a railing on a freestanding deck is mostly the same as putting one on a deck attached to a house, there are some differences you may want to keep in mind. Generally, a deck under 30 inches high doesn’t have a railing requirement, but as my friend learned, sometimes a railing is necessary to make a deck look and feel like a finished, defined space. Initially, he didn’t think that it needed a railing, but after looking at the completed platform deck, we both realized that a railing was the best way to finish the project.Ī freestanding deck railing is almost always a good idea, even when your deck is low enough to the ground that it’s not required. He had a good two acres to work with, so we decided to build a freestanding deck. But what he didn’t have in structure integrity he made up for with land. With no foundation, it didn’t have the structural integrity needed to support the deck. A guy I knew when I lived in Texas wanted to build a deck for his hunting cabin, but he had a problem.
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