Raised deck on posts with a painted guard rail and open stairs

Deck Railings and Stairs in Shawnee, KS

Guards at 36 inches, no opening a 4-inch sphere gets through, and posts anchored to take a 200-pound shove at the top rail.

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Also Available

Every Deck Service We Offer

Railing work pairs naturally with a re-deck, since the boards come off either way.

Deck frame of joists and beams resting on concrete pier blocks

Deck Building

New decks from the pier up, drawn to the 2018 IRC Shawnee adopted.

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Brown composite deck boards being laid across timber joists

Composite Decking

Capped composite and PVC boards, gapped the way the warranty requires.

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Old deck boards with dark paint flaking away from the grain

Deck Repair

Rotted joists, spongy boards, and ledgers that were never bolted or flashed.

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Red-painted deck steps and rail with the finish worn through

Deck Staining

Cleaned, brightened, dried to moisture, then finished in a dry window.

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Deck Railings

Guards at 36 inches with no opening a 4-inch sphere can pass through.

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Screened porch with mesh panels under a slatted timber roof

Covered Decks

Pergolas, solid roofs, and screened porches on framing sized to carry them.

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Scope

What Makes a Guard Actually Hold

The rail is the part people see and the post connection is the part that fails. A guard that looks solid and moves when someone leans on it at height is one of the two classic deck injuries.

The 200-pound rule

A guard has to resist 200 pounds pushed horizontally at any point along the top rail.

Real post hardware

A notched 4x4 lag-screwed to the rim often cannot develop that load. Dedicated hold-downs exist for it.

The 4-inch sphere

No opening may pass a 4-inch sphere, which is roughly 3-7/8 inches of clear baluster spacing.

The gap underneath

The sphere rule applies below the bottom rail and between horizontal members too, not just between pickets.

Handrails on stairs

Four or more risers means a graspable handrail, mounted 34 to 38 inches above the nosing line.

Overhead clearance

Shawnee asks for 10 feet of vertical clearance to overhead electric within 3 feet horizontally.

How a Railing Job Runs

Four steps, and the frame gets checked before we anchor anything to it.

Call

Tell us the linear footage, the height above grade, and whether stairs are in scope. Those three set the price.

Check

We look at the rim joist and blocking, because that is what the guard posts have to anchor into.

Written Price

Priced by the foot, with stairs listed separately.

Install

Posts and hardware first, then rails, infill, and a hand check on every post.

Two-rail wooden handrail beside a concrete slipway

36 INGuard Height

Why Railings Cost More Than Shawnee Homeowners Expect

Because railing is priced by the linear foot of rail, not by the area of the deck, and a long, shallow deck can carry more rail than a big square one. Stairs make it worse: every flight, landing, and turn is expensive relative to the space it occupies, so the number of flights moves the price more than their width does. Then there is the system itself, where cable, glass, and aluminum sit well above wood. On older decks around here the guard posts are usually the real job, since notched 4x4 posts rarely develop the load the code wants. We build wood, metal, cable, and composite guards, plus stair rails, handrails, and full stair rebuilds.

✓ Wood, metal, or cable
✓ Code-height guards
✓ Proper post hardware
✓ Stair handrails
✓ Full stair rebuilds
✓ Priced by the foot

Call (913) 786-3911 ☎ or request a quote

At a Glance

Guard and Stair Requirements

Requirement	What the Code Asks For
Guard height	Minimum 36 inches from the walking surface or nosing line
Opening size	No opening may pass a 4-inch sphere, including under the bottom rail
Guard strength	200 pounds concentrated, applied horizontally at any point on the top rail
Maximum riser	7-3/4 inches
Minimum tread	10 inches
Riser consistency	Largest and smallest riser in a flight within 3/8 inch of each other
Stair width	36 inches clear, minimum
Handrail trigger	Any stairway with 4 or more risers
Handrail height	34 to 38 inches above the tread nosing line, and graspable
Handrail material	A flat 2x4 is not accepted as a handrail here
Overhead electric	10 feet of vertical clearance within 3 feet horizontally

Our Promise

Before we leave, someone puts a shoulder into every guard post on your deck. Not a tap. If it moves, it is not finished, and I would rather find that out in front of you than have you find it out later with a drink in your hand.

The Difference

Wood Guards vs Metal and Cable

	Wood Guard	Metal or Cable
Upfront cost	The cheapest option	Premium, and it shows
Upkeep	Finish it or it silvers	Effectively none
View through it	Balusters block it	Thin verticals or cable
Repair	Replace one baluster	Usually a section at a time
Matching the deck	Stain to match anything	Color-matched to composite lines
Code path	Same 36 in and 4-in sphere rules	Same 36 in and 4-in sphere rules

Service Area

Deck Work Across Johnson County

We cover Shawnee first, then the rest of Johnson County: Lenexa, Overland Park, Merriam, Mission, Olathe, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Lake Quivira, and De Soto. Bonner Springs, Edwardsville, and the Kansas City, KS side are in range too. Permit rules change at the city line, so we confirm which office your address answers to.

Shawnee Lenexa Overland Park Merriam Mission Olathe Prairie Village Roeland Park Lake Quivira De Soto Bonner Springs Edwardsville Kansas City, KS Woodsonia Grey Oaks Monticello Lakeview Estates Bristol Highlands

Questions

Railing Questions in Shawnee

Minimum 36 inches, measured vertically from the adjacent walking surface, or from the nosing line on stairs. Some jurisdictions and commercial settings want 42 inches, but 36 is the residential figure Shawnee's deck handout prints.

It depends on height. Guards are required at open-sided walking surfaces, stairs, porches, balconies, and landings above the threshold height. A genuinely low, ground-level deck may not need one, and the same 30-inch line that drives the permit question is a good rule of thumb for the guard question. We confirm it against your actual grade, which is rarely level.

Close enough that a 4-inch sphere will not pass through anywhere, which works out to about 3-7/8 inches of clear space. People forget it applies to the gap under the bottom rail as well, and to the spaces between horizontal members on cable and slat systems.

At four or more risers. It has to be graspable and mounted 34 to 38 inches above the nosing line. A flat 2x4 laid on top of the guard is not accepted here, which catches out a lot of older decks that otherwise look fine.

Probably inconsistent risers. The tallest and shortest riser in one flight cannot differ by more than 3/8 inch, and the bottom step is nearly always the culprit, because the landing pad was not accounted for when the stringers were cut. Your foot notices long before your eyes do.

Usually. Wood stains to match, and most composite lines have color-matched railing systems. Where it gets awkward is matching a discontinued composite board, in which case we would rather make the railing a deliberate contrast than a near-miss.

Ready to Talk About Your Deck?

Call and tell us what you have in mind. We walk the site, take measurements, and put the number in writing before a single board is ordered.

(913) 786-3911

Mon to Sat, 7am to 6pm

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