I was refering to side mounted rails that are used by Kraftmaid which are side mounted expoxy coated rails with plastic wheels that slide down the tracks which are 3/4 extension. I am not that stupid to presume to know what the side mounted rails are like that are in your supposed custom kitchen. This thread is a good example of the blind leading the blind on here more often then not. For the info of anyone who wants to learn something and not continue to spread miss information soft close has an engineering purpose. The cabinet companies do not put them on cabinets to make you think they look cool. When you build a cabinet drawer to be rated for 100 lbs or more in weight the cabinet maker adds soft close mechanism so it is not possible to slam the drawer shut and crack the face frame of the cabinet. A side mounted full extension slide in an of itself is not superior an undermount full extension glide. I have several cabinet companies I sell that use them. They are not easy to slam shut they way they are made. They also have rubber bumper at the end of the track in the back of the cabinet which holds the drawer shut when you close it. Every cabinet I sell with side mounted full extension glides are the same as those on Husky, Kobalt, and craftsman mechanics tool boxes I keep my tools in. If you made cabinets that you are going to provide a warranty for, and you make the drawers to be rated for 100 plus pounds, would you want to warranty the cabinet frame would not fall apart in a home with domestic violence? The drawers would be slaming shut everytime someone is mad at another person and lets out their frustration on the drawers and doors. Their is a reason people make things the way they do. Just as I stated in the first post their is a reason the guy wants to use the side mounted that the person with the original post did not understand to restate.

Really a problem how? I haven't built with any vinyl railings but I have put together multiple Radiance Rail and Ornamental Rail systems. You follow the directions, you cut carefully, it'll go fine. It takes a little more time than using 2x4s and 2x2s but it looks a lot nicer too. Porch guy, you crack me up. size and shape of deck, height from ground, thickness of flooring, 6x6s are "too big" - dude, w...t...f... none of that has anything to do with the choices available in railing systems. Gotta agree w/ Hyatt, you post some things that have me shaking my head! Garden_Junkie, if you're still wandering around this site, yes, you can shim out a 4x4 post to use those Deckorator rock sleeves. Try a 2x4 nailed to the inward facing side of the post and a 2x6 on the side facing the next post. See how the sleeve fits over that, you might need some additional shims to tighen the fit. If you have a table saw, you could also rip pieces to nail to the post for an exact fit. See if Deckorators will show you any of those post sleeves that have been installed for a year or two. Hyatt's got it - the stone sleeves are a new product...don't be Deckorators' guinea pig if they haven't worked out all the bugs! Mac

Its a little too late to install your posts inside the frame,like I do,with the decking down. I have used 3/4 copper pipe in the rail system coming out with a nice look installed with shop made conectors. Side Note>> twp 116 will work on copperInstaling your posts to the rim joist using 2x4 flat ways is a bad idea. The Joe has a few projects out with the ipe 2x4s at a 90. Its always a good idea to visit the premit store before you start your project. I am thinking your missing a lot of things. John

mairin - I guess there's a chance they'd mess up the finished floor if they did that now? Anyway, I wanted the newel just 1 step up, same as it would be if we had a bullnose step and volute/turnout, they could still notch it out to snug up to 2nd tread. But 1st guy didn't want to do that, wanted permnission in writing from building inspector (and now 9 months later I'm even more reluctant to go asking), 2nd guy never got back to me after coming out for a quote and nodding his head yes the whole time, and my cousin who has been doing all the trim in my house (and building new window jambs and stools where the builder didn't do them right) says that he doesn't want to do it, even if we put blocking under the first tread. I guess when they're on the floor they actually are attached to a joist? I showed him pics of crazyhouse6's newel and he didn't think it would hold up to lateral forces (swinging), though it was fine for someone just pulling straight on it. So what do you think of my newel options? Which should I choose? It will be 2 weeks to get the oak contemporary newel that I posted first. The 2.5 x 3.5 blocks of cherry are here, just need to get cousin to cut and route them, I can put clear finish on and get them up but I don't know how they look with oak rail. My favorite is still the vertical volute with a newel somewhere near the bottom, but I haven't even thought of balusters (BC newel and rail with oak balusters?), and I need to find someone to install it.