Any ideas on how to install railing posts?

[John_M]

Hey there,

Here is what I am looking to do.  I have a loft that needs some railings installed.  I know how I want to do the railings but the posts are what is confusing me.  I would like them to be really solid.

I know sometimes you can notch out the wood and overhand them like this:



But I would like to mount my posts straight on the edge of my loft like this:



(like the center post where he is standing)

or like this:



How can I mount that post in the third picture so it is solid along the edge of my loft?  (without seeing the fasteners?)

[MountainDon]

Unfortunately the second and third images do not show for me. Hot linking to images on other websites does not always work.

They can be viewed by linking to the webpages though, click the following.

http://image18.webshots.com/18/2/38/53/201123853HpXMJQ_ph.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ucIRQLhG9hA/SWqX6N4lBlI/AAAAAAAADHE/82l8PUkT6Z8/s1600-h/01-09-09+2413.jpg
 

[MountainDon]

As for the second image, those posts could very well pass through the floor and be secured underneath where we can not see.

And likely the same thing applies to the third image. You can see one post overlapping.


I would want a railing on a loft edge to be sturdy enough that it would not budge if a heavy adult tripped and fell against it. Think worst possible thing that could happen.  I do not think there is an easy way to make posts like in image 2 solid enough to take a fall without them passing below the floor level. Somebody else may have some ideas.

It partly depends on the length of the span and whether or not the ends can be secured to a post that reaches from floor to ceiling.

[fishing_guy]

When I did my remodel, I used one of these:

http://www.ljsmith.net/pdfs/12Tools_Hardware.pdf

Similar to the LJ-3070.  Has gone 10 years now, without any problems.  The only thing is it does require a plug in the post.

[John_M]

Thanks fishing_guy...that's the kind of stuff I was looking for!!

[John_M]

oooops...    thank you too Mountain Don