Steel Cable Deck Railing

First off, I suck at this.  I NEVER take in-progress pictures or step-by-step pictures so finished products are all you're getting these days. Sorry.

We have a sloped property and our rear patio has a ledge with a drop of about 4 feet at its highest.  The railing that was there was wobbly and poorly built to the point that it was more dangerous than having no railing.  If there's no railing, you know you may fall off so you keep back from the edge.If there's a railing, you may lean on it.  This railing would be knocked over by a child leaning on it.  So I removed it.  My stupid dog thinks it's a good idea for his 105lb ass to jump off this thing to bark at the UPS guy so a railing needed to go up.  Also, I'm pretty sure it's required by building code.

So I built this here steel cable railing system.  Once Zyggy is moving around, I'll probably double the frequency of the steel cables but this will do for now.

Here we see the stupid dog in question whose death-defying leaps are being foiled by hoomans with tools.

This is the end attached to the house.  I know the patio isn't level, thanks.  That project will be handled in spring.

Materials used:

• 5x 3-foot pressure-treated 4x4s (I set mine four feet apart so obviously adjust for length)
• 2x 10' cedar 2x6 (cut to length so the joint meets at the center of a post)
• 4x stainless steel post bases
• 4x redhead concrete anchors of appropriate size (I used 3.5"x1/2")
• 80 feet 3/8" bulk steel cable
• Four 1/4" stainless steel eyelets with 2" shank
• 8 3/8" ferrules
• 1 stainless steel 3/8 eyelet with 3" shank
• 3 6" 3/8 lag screws
• 2 3/8 lag shields
• 24 2" deck screws- I used ceramic-coated star drive screws
• 12 4" deck screws

Tools Required:

• Drill
• 7/16 drill bit at least five inches in length
• 1/4 drill bit
• Drill bit of appropriate size for deck screw pilot holes (mine is 3/16)
• Hammer Drill/Concrete Drill
• 5/8 Masonry bit
• Post level
• Impact driver with bits for your screws and appropriate sockets for the concrete anchors and lag screws
• Miter saw (Any saw that can give you a clean 90-degree cut through a 4x4 will suffice)
• Dremel with a broad metal blade (any cable cutter or thin metal cutoff tool will work)

Cable tools:
I used a pair of vice grips and a dremel but if I did it again, I'd get a proper swaging tool.  I was able to handle the compression of the ferrules by hand but it wasn't easy even though, thanks to my deadlift hobby, I have a prodigious grip.

Method:
Step one is always measure everything twice (or more) and write everything down.  Diagrams help too.

Step two was to mark and drill the holes for the post anchors.  Putting this into concrete (especially OLD concrete as it tends to get harder with age) means using a hammer drill and a masonry bit designed for a hammer drill.  A cheap bit will last about five minutes.  Maybe less.  Get a GOOD bit.  Yes it's 20 bucks but it's worth it.  I destroyed a cheap bit but my good Bosch Daredevil is still working nicely.  Also keep a bucket/cup of water on hand to dip the bit periodically as they will get crazy hot and hot metal deforms more easily.  Also- let the drill do the work.  Moderate pressure is plenty.
Once the holes are drilled and clear, place the post bases on and insert the anchors.  I used a wedge anchor for mine but if I went back, I'd just just lag shields.  Make sure to square the post anchors and torque them TIGHT. Wobble = bad.

Step three was to cut and drill the posts.  I cut all my posts down, marked them each for the cable. I used the long drill bit to put a 7/16 hole through Four posts at the same height.  The fifth post was the end post so use the 1/4 bit to sink a pilot hole about two inches at the same heights as the holes in the other four posts.

Once the posts are all cut and drilled, waterproof them thoroughly.  I did my waterproofing at the end and regret that.  Waterproof these guys before you install them.

Grab your impact driver, the 2" wood screws, and your post level.  Affix the four through-drilled posts to the post bases ensuring they are plumb and level. I used three screws on each side of the four posts to ensure a really strong hold.  Wobble = bad.

Concrete drilling again! Our house has a concrete foundation about 14 inches up from the base of the posts so I sunk a 2.5" 3/8 hole that lined up about 2" below the bottom pilot hole in the post.  Next I used the long drill bit to put three holes through the post at least 2" from the pilot holes. I put in the first lag shield and sunk one of the long lag bolts to hold the post securely to the foundation.  Then two more lag screws into the house itself.  That's three 6" lag screws holding up the end post so far.  Should be sound.  Wobble = bad.  Now put the four eye bolts into their pilot holes.  There will be a fair bit of tension on these so make sure they are sunk nice and deep.

Next I measured from the house to the center of the third post and cut a 2x6 to length.  The second 2x6 goes from the midline of the center post to 2" past the end post and cut that to length. (Again, waterproof now, not after.  Live and learn.) Square up the 2x6, drill pilot holes, sink 2 screws into each post.  The center post has 2 boards so each board gets 2 screws.  Now you've got a railing!  With huge gaps in it so it's time to run the cable.

Last time for the concrete drill.  18" from the last post, I sunk a 5/8 hole about 3 inches for the second lag shield. Place the lag shield in the hole and take your big eye bolt and screw it in.  TIGHT.  This one will have a lot of lateral stress on it and shouldn't move at all no matter how much force you put into it. Seal over the top of the hole with some polyurethane adhesive to prevent water seepage and expansion cracks.

I put my cable at 7" intervals and used 4 runs of cable.  I will probably go back with 4 more runs at some point as I recently found that code in my state says no more than a 4" gap if there's more than a 3 foot drop.

Thread the cable through a ferrule, through the big eyelet, and back through the ferrule creating a loose loop. Pull through enough cable to get to the other end with some slack.  This should be a pretty vague guess and always over-estimate how much you need. Chase the cable through the bottom row of holes in your posts.  When you get to the end, thread it through one side of a ferrule, then through the eye loop, then back to the ferrule's second gap.  The short side of the cable should be flush with the end of the ferrule.  Pull the loop down to the size you want or use a thimble to size correctly.  Crimp the ferrule shut so the cable is fixed.  If you are using a swaging tool, congrats.  You're smarter than I am. I used vice grips and it works out but it's a pain in the ass and is only possible because I have a pretty absurd grip strength (Deadlift hobby means my hands are stronger than most folks.). This isn't to brag, it's to warn you that getting vice grips to apply enough force to crimp the ferrules securely is not easy and is a FAR cry from the ideal solution.  Use the right tools.

At the other end, tighten the cable down and snug the ferrule as close to the eyelet as you want.  I stood on my pile of cable and leaned my knee into the slack to pull the cable as tight as I could.  Another situation where help or the right tools would have been the smart call. With the cable held taut, crimp the ferrule down hard along its whole length.  Use the dremel, loppers, grinder or whatever to cut the cable as close to the ferrule as you can.

Repeat the above process for each cable working your way up.  Start at the bottom and go up as the cables will be in the way of the cutoff and crimping if you go top down.

That's it.  If you followed my directions in italics, you're done.  If not, waterproof this guy and you're done. 6" wide railing to set drinks on during patio shindigs, 3/8 steel cable to keep stupid mastiffs in their place, and a really nice look for a LOT less money than the cable railing kits I was finding.

Next thing for this is to add some tiki torches to the railing. Something like this...