How to Quickly Install Pre-Fabricated Deck Railing from Lowe's [Deck Railings]

This pre-fabricated deck railing set up was purchased at Lowe's. It was a little more than I wanted to pay and wasn't completely top quality but it was able to be constructed quickly and effectively fit the billet of having a deck rail in place on this second story outside deck. The reason I needed a new deck was because the old one had been attacked by carpenter ants in many places so after exterminating all of the carpenter ants I removed the old deck. It made for some good dry backyard bonfire wood. I then took perimeter measurements and figured out how much deck rail I would need.

This pre-fabricated railing was a little more than I really wanted to pay so I didn't want to overestimate. I got my materials home and then kind of layer it out to so I could get a visual on how it went together. The first step in construction was to install the 4 X4 posts. I secured them to the outside of the deck with lag bolts, of course, pre-drilling them before sinking the lag bolt in. Since I was a one man show I was able to clamp them into place before permanently securing them. I used two lag bolts per post. Same goes for the rails. I roughly fit them up before securing them. Pre-drilled the holes then used weather proof drywall screws to hold them in. I pre-drilled the holes using a bit slightly smaller than the screw itself. Since each rail section was a set length I ended up having to trim a little off of one. I measured twice to make sure I had the correct length. I used my hand held power saw to whack the extra part off. Overall this deck rail was super easy to install and had it done in just a few hours as I took my time installing it. The pro's are that is was quick to install, it looked attractive and matched the design of the house, was plenty sturdy (sturdy enough to lean against), the wood was already pre-stained, and was very simple to install by myself. The only negatives were that I wish the wood was a little thicker on the rails themselves and the other is that this set up wasn't conducive to a simple gutter system if you wanted to put one on.

Here's a link on amazon for the quick grip clamps I used here. I use these for a number projects as well:

Quick Grip Clamps (paid link(: https://amzn.to/3akRzIP

The existing deck is rectangular shaped. I used marine grade plywood for the decking and coated/sealed it. Should be good for many years.

This is the front of the deck.

Deck rail sections small enough to fit in the back of the truck.

These are the 4 X 4's that will get mounted to the deck with lag bolts.

I picked up some lag bolts from Lowe's just for mounting the 4 X 4's.

I wanted to get a rough idea of what it will look like. This is fairly accurate, however, the posts were split between deck rail sections.

I roughly put up the the posts where they will go. I wanted to make absolutely sure they were located correctly before installing the lag bolts through them.

Luckily I had hoarded enough clamps to secure them in place. If you ever see these clamps on sale or for cheap, grab them.

Drilling the holes for the lag bolts. I don't want to risk cracking the posts.

Getting ready now to sink in these galvanized lag bolts. I used an electric drill with a socket bit on the end of it to drive them. It worked really well.

No cracks and driven all the way in. So far so good.

I used two lag bolts per post.

Once the posts were up, the rest was even easier. Time to install the rails to the posts.

I was planning on using deck screws to secure the rail sections to the posts.

I used two deck screws per connection point.

All done. The deck has completely re-done at this now. New plywood, sealed, and new deck rails.