Railing News

How to Estimate Deck Railing Materials

Knowing how to estimate deck railing materials will help you easily determine exactly how much material you need to purchase. At Vista Railings, we understand how important it is to create a proper budget and material list before purchasing deck railings. That is why our team of railing experts will always make the time to help you estimate how much deck railing material you need.

Estimating Deck Railing Materials

Ordering deck railings online can often feel daunting, as there are so many different railing products to choose from, making it difficult to know exactly what you need. When estimating deck railing materials, consider creating a 2D drawing of your deck space to help you visualize how many posts you will need for the size of the deck and how far apart they will be placed.

Some of the things that you will need to take into consideration when estimating deck railing materials include:

Does Your Deck Need Railings?

In most cases, decks that range from 24 inches to 30 inches from the ground are required to have railings of at least three feet high, extending from the surface of the deck to the top of the railing; however, before building a deck railing, it is important to check local building codes to ensure that your deck will meet all of the necessary requirements.

If your deck does require a railing, it will need to extend on both sides of the stairs and around the perimeter of the deck. The railing will also need balusters, also known as spindles, and vertical posts to anchor the railing in place and to tie the deck frame and railing together.

How Many Balusters are Needed?

In order to determine how many balusters are needed for your railing, you will first need to figure out how much space should be between the deck balusters. In most cases, balusters should not be spaced out more than four inches apart on centre with at least three balusters for every 12 inches. The length of the deck railing in total linear feet will play a key role in determining exactly how many balusters are needed to ensure that the deck railing meets the required safety standards.

If you would like to learn more about how to estimate deck railing materials, or if you are interested in one of our deck railing products, please contact Vista Railings at 1-800-667-8247.


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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