The New View: Cable Rails on Bethesda’s Decks

There’s a slow revolution opening up vistas everywhere across Maryland: the advent of cable rails. Bethesda, Maryland in particular has caught on to the change, and the change is visible. Most decks around Maryland have the fairly typical wooden railings — fat, 2-inch pillars arranged 4 inches apart with a thick top handhold long them. 2 inches of wood, 4 inches of air — that blocks off a full third of your view! The new style of cable railing are much better for the view, blocking off a scant quarter-inch out of every 3 inches of space.

Are Stainless Steel Cable Rails for me?

If you’re curious about stainless steel cable rails for your Maryland deck, there are some things you’ll need to consider:

• Does your local building code allow cable rails on a residence?
• Does the structure have a method of anchoring the posts of a cable rail so that, even if kids climb up and bounce on them, they won’t be in any danger of falling off?
• In most areas of the US, putting a cable railing on a residence is legal. Typically (though it does vary by state), a cable rail must be at least 36 inches tall, and must be spaced and tensioned properly enough to prevent a 4-inch ball from getting through the wires. That might sound like you could space the cables 4 inches apart, but that would require the cables to be perfectly rigid — and that’s impractical. It’s generally wiser to position your cables 3 inches apart with enough tension that the aforementioned 4-inch ball won’t fit between them no matter how you pull.The most common materials used to support a classic cable rail are wood, iron, or concrete. Wooden posts can look good on a rustic-style home, but to a degree they bring back the interrupted-view problem that made cable rails popular in the first place. Concrete rails are good in areas that have relatively stable weather, but can wear down too quickly for comfort in the Maryland seasonal changes. That makes the iron post supports the best choice for stainless steel cable rails in Maryland. Iron rails with cables are durable, beautiful, and most importantly, easy to see out of.

Contact Urbana Ironworks today to learn more about stainless steel cable rails in your area!