Railing News

How High do Deck Railings Need to Be?

Deck Railings | March 26, 2020

Having a clear idea of how high deck railings need to be will ensure that your deck space is not only safe for everyone to use but also up to code. At Vista Railings, we understand how important it is to follow the proper deck railing code requirements for your area. In addition to offering a wide range of deck railing products, we are also always available to answer any questions you might have about deck railing code requirements.

Deck Railing Height Requirements

Since one of the most important things to consider when choosing a deck railing is safety, it is crucial to ensure that your deck railing complies with the very specific requirements for residential buildings set out by your city or township. In some cases, compliance may require having the railings professionally inspected in which case the inspector will closely look at the railings around the perimeter of the deck and on stairways and ramps.

Common Safety Concerns with Deck Railings

When it comes to ensuring that your deck railings are up to code, it is important to work with an experienced contractor or deck railing professional to ensure that all safety concerns are being properly addressed. Some of the most common safety concerns with deck railings that you should take into consideration include:

Deck Railing Height

The height of your deck railing will vary depending on the exact requirements of your local municipality. In most cases, deck railing heights vary between 36 to 42 inches from the deck surface to the top of the rail with the bottom of the railing being less than 4 inches from the deck surface; however, you should always double check with an experienced contractor or deck railing professional to ensure that you are meeting local code requirements.

Stair Railing Height

Open staircases that lead from the deck down to the ground will most likely require a railing, depending on the height of the staircase. When installing railings on stairs, certain spacing requirements will need to be observed, such as ensuring small children cannot fall between the bottom of the railing and the top of the stair tread.

If you would like to learn more about how high deck railings need to be, or if you are interested in one of our railing products, please contact Vista Railings at 1-800-667-8247. Our team would love to help ensure that your new deck railings are being installed to meet your areas specific code requirements.


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We are Washago Timber Mart and we've been a stocking dealer for nearly 15 years. Vista Railings are the absolute #1 best choice when it comes to Aluminum & Glass Railing Systems.

Chris Denne
Washago Timber Mart

James is wonderful! He continuously supports us and our Customers by ensuring that we receive our stock promptly and efficiently. He helps in rectifying issues that arise and at times he is known to personally drop off product either to our store or job sites to make sure we over deliver to our Customers! We appreciate you James and your team for all of your support!!

Rona Filsinger

The BEST railing in Canada… Customer Service is amazing. Thanks Team Vista the look of Vista railing is a beautiful sleek design it compliments any home and definitely increases the value of your home.

Brad Vermolen
Castle Niagara Building Centre

Top notch, sturdy and easy to install railing. Always a great experience dealing with James, Dwayne and Jim. From product knowledge, to solving any issues, they are always eager to help and on stand-by… Great working with them.

Mr Duncan

Vista has been a dream to work with, the program makes life so much easier and efficient to do quotes. Dwayne, Jim and the rest of the team I have dealt with are always willing to answer questions and go the extra mile to help fix any issues or getting pieces and parts to us promptly.

Matt Walker

We love working with the Vista Team! HF Smith Lumber in Cookstown, Ontario has been a proud stocking dealer since day one, carrying their four top colours. Vista’s quoting program is super easy to use and saves us a ton of time. The sales team is fantastic – always friendly, quick to help, and great to work with! We also love seeing the new products they continue to add. It’s exciting to expand our offerings and keep things fresh for our customers! Keep up the great work

Kim Ytsma
HF Smith Lumber

I purchase many different types of items in the building industry and have been at all levels from putting away lumber, customer service management and purchasing at wholesale level. The Vista railing company by far has been the best company to deal with in my entire 41 years in the industry. It’s just unbelievable the support and quality they produce from all levels — from manufacturing, pulling the product, design team and of course the sales support. Railing is a very difficult item for some yards to sell due to the complexity, but Vista makes it real easy with the least complicated quoting system, the Vista planner.
Thank you Team Vista for all you do for me and the industry!!

Randy Muentener