Tag: railing

Upgrading a Builder grade railing

The problem

Some of our want list had to be delayed to replace a poor quality handrail installed by the builder. Needless to say the railing failed due to poor preparation and material selection. Upgrading a builder grade railing can add value to any home.

When learning how to remodel and build homes, my father always spent the time to hand select every 2×4, 2×6 etc. etc. I hated it. But as I got older I excepted the process and I just do it naturally. The reason I mention this is due to the material that was used to construct the railing we are replacing for this project.

As a force of habit I automatically go to the best quality material I can locate and scrutinize every piece. So this brings us to the choice the builder used. In the vast number of years I’ve been remodeling I have never stumbled across a finger jointed 2×4. This is the wrong choice for an outdoor wood project.

I know the builder chose this material because it is cheap and with a fresh coat of paint who would know. The choice of material is not the only mistake. During installation proper preparation did not occur. The exposed end grain was not sealed and I could not find any signs of a primer being used. Poorly prepped and a low quality paint job and the railing is destined to fail. The failure is the railing had rotted when exposed to the elements.

Continue reading “Upgrading a Builder grade railing” →

Custom Pirate Ship railing

Yes the title says Pirate ship. Every year in Bradenton Florida the HERNANDO DE SOTO HISTORICAL SOCIETY has a Parade which includes Pirate ships. They have events through out the year.

The pirate ships are converted buses or trucks used for parade purposes. During an inspection The FLDOT required a safety railing to be added or the ship could not be street legal.

The railings required were 14 feet long and not only curved to the shape of the bow but also had to curve upward. This is not the challenging part. These railings needed to be fabricated and installed in 14 days.

  • Railing installed at Bow
  • Upper Railing at Bow
  • Railing installed at Bow
  • 1/8″ laminated strips

To make these I made a template out of 1/4″ plywood laid out on supports that were installed by the Crewe.

Due to the urgency we decided to use 2×6 lumber and ripped 1/8″ strips. We laid out 2 sheets of plywood to length and attached the template.

Clamps, clamps and more clamps were used to glue the strips together with the assistance of my brother. Large laminations require us to work fast due to the length of these railings. We glued up four pieces at first to form the basic shape and allowed the glue to dry. We had to make two templates and two different setups for this build as the ship was not symmetrical.

The railings were completed in under a week on the budget. The Crewe installed and stained them in time for the Parade. This was one of my favorite projects because it was unique and challenged my woodworking abilities.