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01 / 09Wood, aluminum or glass guards built to OBC 9.8.8 heights, priced per linear foot as their own line and retrofittable to an existing deck.
A deck railing is the one part of your deck that exists to stop a person falling, so it is the part the Ontario Building Code is most specific about. Section 9.8.8 sets the rules and we build to them without negotiation, because a guard that fails is the only deck defect that hurts somebody.
A guard becomes mandatory once the walking surface is more than 600 mm, about 24 inches, above grade. Below that, no guard is required. Above it, the code sets four dimensions:
Oakville states the same guard rules in its own deck requirements and enforces them through administrative penalties.
Wood deck railings match a cedar or pressure-treated deck and cost least. Aluminum railings for decks are slim, black and effectively maintenance-free, and the narrow balusters give back a surprising amount of the view that a wood picket takes away. Glass infill, framed or frameless, is the choice when the whole point of the deck is a view you do not want interrupted, and it is the only option where the guard itself becomes the visual feature. A privacy screen for decking can be built into the guard line on the neighbour side while the view side stays open.
This is a large share of our railing work. An older deck with a wobbly guard, or a deck built before the current guard height applied, is usually structurally fine and just needs the posts re-anchored and a new guard system fitted. We check the rim joist and the post connections first, because a guard is only as good as what it is bolted to, and through-bolting into a solid rim is the difference between a guard and a handhold.
Railing is priced per linear foot as its own visible line on your quote, so you can see exactly what the upgrade from wood to aluminum costs instead of guessing at a bundled number. Quantity is the exposed deck perimeter minus the stair opening and any confirmed open segments. Stair railings are measured separately along the slope, on one or both sides. A railing-only job carries a minimum, because mobilising a crew for a short run costs the same as for a long one.
Keep the deck under 600 mm and you avoid the guard entirely. Above it, the deck railing decision is wood for budget, aluminum for maintenance, glass for view.
| Guard trigger | Walking surface more than 600 mm above grade |
|---|---|
| Guard height | 900 mm from 600 to 1,800 mm above grade; 1,070 mm above 1,800 mm |
| Opening size | Small enough that a 100 mm sphere cannot pass through |
| Stair handrail | 865 to 965 mm above the nosing |
| Materials | Wood, powder-coated aluminum, or framed and frameless glass infill |
| Pricing basis | Per linear foot of exposed perimeter, minus the stair opening and any confirmed open segments |
We are an installation contractor, not a manufacturer or a materials retailer. We build decks and fences on your property across the Greater Toronto Area: layout, footings below the frost line, framing, boards, railings, stairs and gates, finished and inspected. Composite boards are a surface option we install, alongside pressure-treated lumber and western red cedar, and the boards themselves are made by manufacturers we do not represent and whose brands we do not resell. If you already have material on site we can build with it; if you do not, we specify and source what suits the deck and include it in the written fixed price. What you are buying from us is the build and the crew that stands behind it, not a product off a shelf.
