What is the best way to attach 2x4 railing to 4x4 posts for a deck? I didn't know if there was hardware or th

Question

I have tried to s***w them in but am having trouble. I don't know if I am using the wrong size s***w or should use attachment. The wood I am using is pressure treated. I am using 2x4 in between the posts with a 1x6 on top of the 2x4 and 4x4 posts. I didn't know if something like deckorators would work or not. I have tried to s***w them in but don't know if I am using the wrong size of s***w or just going at the wrong angle.

Answer 1

The 2x4s are BETWEEN the 4x4's? Yes, that is hard to get in the right angle. You have a couple options.

You can get longer screws. I'm talking like 4 inches long.

Go in at about a 45 degree angle.

My suggestion, don't go between the 4x4s, but across the face. Go from the end of the 1st to the center of the 2nd, center of 2nd to center of the next, etc, to the end of the last.

Then, you can s***w straight through the front into the posts at a 90 degree angle. Then put the 1x6 across the top, it will hang over about 1/2" on both sides.

Answer 2

Without knowing where you are, or if the construction as you describe it is CODE, I wouldn't have fabricated the rail that way,,,no offense. Using 2 x 4's to span the 4 x 4's they should do just that, and be screwed into any 4 x 4 they happen to span.

   I probably would have used a 2 x  cap as well.

   The s***w size I typically use for decks allows at the very least, the same amount of thread into the stock, as the 2 x is thick. I prefer 3 inch Decking screws consistently, using 2 x stock

   Mo matter so much the s***w length, to insert the 2 x 4's would mean brackets or toe nailing the screws. Not ideal at all, and probably not CODE. Included in your local Code, would also be height of the deck to ground, and space between any railing sections.

Steven Wolf

AKA: "The Deck Doc"

Just my two "sense"