Railings
The deck guard that wobbles when the kids lean against it. The porch baluster that came loose three winters ago and the homeowner has been meaning to fix. The cedar top rail that finally rotted through at the post and a hand went through it. The cable run that was tight on install day in 2019 and now sags low enough to fail the 4-inch sphere rule. The stair handrail that was glued to the wall and pulled out the first time a guest grabbed it on the way down. Railings is the trade for every guard, baluster, and handrail outside (and the interior stair rails where a fall is a real risk) — five material systems with very different price floors, very different maintenance profiles, and one shared code reference. Every system Handis builds meets IRC R312 — 36-inch minimum guard height (42 inches in some Seattle-area jurisdictions where the deck sits more than 30 inches above grade), the 200-pound concentrated load capacity at the top rail, and the 4-inch sphere rule for infill. Pure carpentry — no licensed sub is required for the railing itself. From $2,500 for a small pressure-treated wood replacement to $16,000 for a frameless tempered laminated glass run on a view deck.
Systems
Railings Pricing
Final pricing depends on the linear footage, the material selected, the post style (wood, aluminum, steel, stainless), any returns or stair runs, and whether the existing framing meets the 200-pound load requirement (older decks sometimes need post blocking added before the railing install). Each material page lists detailed pricing for that system. Request a free in-home estimate for an accurate quote against your actual deck and railing run.
Tell us the railing run (linear feet, stair count, any returns) and the material you are leaning toward — we will quote the full install.
Why Seattle Homeowners Book Handis for Railings
A failing deck railing is not a cosmetic problem. It is the only thing between someone and a fall, and IRC R312 wrote the 36-inch height and the 200-pound load capacity into code because falls from residential decks are the most common single source of serious deck injury in the US — the CPSC has tracked it for decades. The deck guard that wobbles when leaned on, the baluster that pulls loose in a hand, the cable run that sags wide enough that a toddler can put a head through it — every one of those is a liability that should be on the next-fix list, not the someday list. Handis carpenters install every system to code, document the post connections in the photos we send at closeout, and tell you on the call which material is the right pick for the actual use case (kids and dogs, view deck, low-maintenance retirement, deliberate craftsman wood profile).
Estimate
Tell us the railing run (linear feet, how many stair runs, any returns or corners), the deck height above grade (drives the 36 vs 42-inch height question), the material you are leaning toward (wood, cable, glass, aluminum, composite), and any constraints — view deck, dogs and kids, a hot tub on the deck, a fixed budget. We send back a clear estimate and a project timeline.
What Our Customers Say
Recent railing-install reviews from verified Seattle-area Handis customers across all five material systems.
Replaced a failing pressure-treated railing on the back deck of a 1996 split-level in Bothell with a clear cedar top rail and stainless cable infill. Handis pulled the old posts (the lags had pulled out of the rim joist on three of them), added blocking inside the rim at every new post location, set the steel posts through-bolted, and tensioned the cable on day two. Three working days. The torque-wrench photos showing every tensioner spec'd correctly were a nice touch.
Glass railing on a third-story balcony in West Seattle facing the Sound. Tempered laminated glass per code, frameless base-channel mount into the deck framing. Two working days for the install. They warned us about the squeegee maintenance schedule on the call — we have stuck to it monthly and the glass still looks like the day they finished. Worth the upgrade for the view.
Cedar railing replacement on the front porch of a 1923 craftsman in Wallingford. Wanted the traditional turned-baluster profile to match the original (the previous owner had put up a 2x2 picket replacement in the 90s that looked nothing like a craftsman porch). Handis sourced the turned cedar balusters, set the new posts, ran a shaped top rail and bottom rail to match historic profile. Two working days. House looks period-correct now.
Aluminum railing on a long back deck in Sammamish — about 65 linear feet with a stair run. We wanted zero maintenance going forward (the previous wood railing had been refinished four times in twelve years and was rotting at the bottom rail again). Powder-coated black, three working days. Two years in and it looks identical to install day. No staining, no sealing, no thinking about it.
Composite railing matched to our existing TimberTech decking on the back of a 2018 Issaquah build. The deck was the original Tigerwood Capped Composite and Handis sourced TimberTech Impression Rail in the matching tone with aluminum balusters. Two working days. The colors line up exactly like one project — the previous owner had put up a white vinyl railing that fought the deck color. Now the deck reads as one assembly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis railing installs — code requirements, material trade-offs, maintenance, pricing, permits, and what fits one carpentry crew versus a multi-trade project.