Vinyl Railing Installation

Rail Support Poles

• When installing your vinyl railing, pay close attention to how you secure the railing. Most vinyl railing is secured by several support poles installed into a base surface, such as a wood deck or concrete patio. For wooden decks, you should secure the support poles directly to the support structure beneath the deck, not to the deck planks. Cut through the deck plank and slide the pole through the deck’s surface to bolt the support poles into place to support beams.

  Drill anchor holes for the placement of anchor bolts for the support posts, if your installation surface is a concrete one. Make the anchor holes several inches in depth for strength, and use multiple anchoring bolts for each support pole.

  Use brackets around the support poles to help provide additional stability for the decorative covers that surround the poles. The brackets are the same size as the pole covers and will need to be installed perpendicular to the line that the rails will run, to hold the covers centered on the poles with the railing holes centered in the right direction for rail installation.

Rail Mounting

• Once the support poles are installed, install the mounts for the rails, either directly to a wall, or in the form of a decorative post over a rail pole. Slide your decorative posts over the rail support poles, using the installed post brackets to give extra support to the posts and keep the posts from tilting at an angle. Lock the posts into place using a railing plate, which is a square plate that attaches to the tops of your support poles and, like the brackets, provides extra support and stability.

  To install your railing directly to a wall, place a mounting bracket against the wall. Mount the brackets to the wall by screwing them into place at the required rail height. If the wall’s surface is drywall or plaster, mount anchor bolts into the wall to provide a secure mount for your screws. Once you’ve placed all rail posts and wall mount brackets, install your rails.

Rail Installation

• Installing your vinyl railing is a matter of placing the railing between mounts and securing it in place with screws. Once you’ve installed the support structure, mount the bottom rail, connecting the rail to the mounts in the wall and rail posts. Vinyl railing comes in preset lengths that you’ll have to cut to fit precisely with your installation. Measure the lengths needed, and cut your vinyl rails using a circular saw to the size you need. With the bottom rail in place, mount the balusters (the small rails between the larger support posts) in the pre-drilled holes in bottom rail. The balusters offer extra support for the rails between the support posts. Place the top rail onto the balusters and secure to the mounts to finish the rail mounting. Continue the process for each rail section between support posts, and finish up the railing installation by mounting the decorative post caps to the rail posts.