Cable Railing

by C Fushimi
(Golden, CO)

We are wanting to put in a horizontal cable railing on our deck. The cable has to withstand a lateral force of 200 lbs. My question is, will the titan anchor post be strong enough for this type of railing?

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Oct 06, 2013
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We did it
by: Ron

We built cable railings 36" high and we spaced the posts around 4-5' apart maximum. Then we used a continuous 2x4 cap top rail that was screwed down onto the top of each of the posts and created a really strong frame.

You need that because the cable is under a fair amount of tension from one post to the next.

We are very happy with the results and it seems more than strong enough. But we never had an inspection done as this was a renovation we did ourselves.

Sep 11, 2009
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Cable Railing and Post Anchors
by: Editor - Rich Bergman

Cable railing is a bit different then typical railing because it derives no lateral strength from the cables - only tension. All of the lateral strength of the rail comes from the frame itself - that is the posts and the top rail which must be a continuous cap over the posts.

I have never used the Titan anchor for cable railing and can not give you a definitive answer to your question. I do know that if it were to be used the post spacing would have to be closer than in a standard wood application - probably no more than 4'. Also you would probably have to use a continuous 2x6 top rail. This would definitely be a strong configuration.

The only variable is how long are the runs between directional changes. If the runs are fairly short such as say 10 or 12 feet and they tie back into the building then I think you would easily have something that passes that standard.

In addition there are new post braces that are designed to add extra strength to any post installation when required and this might be the perfect situation. These braces will be available sometime after September 20.

But I would caution you the anchors have not been tested or designed specifically for a cable rail application. There are new models of the product being developed for different applications which could entail this kind of use but they are not available yet.

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