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Porches & Decks Design Dilemma

Deck Bar Railing - using Trex?

last year

I am getting a new deck built (above ground). I decided on Trex so that the deck would be maintenance free. I am asking for a bar railing (flat) to be built - which will be used to set drinks, plates etc - not anything heavy. At the longest it will be 16 ft. The contractor says that the railing top will have to be built using regular wood and not Trex. This does not make any sense to me as the railing top will be supported by rails below and should be strong enough to handle plates/glasses. Am I right? Or is there a reason that the bar rail cannot be built using Trex.

TIA!

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Comments (5)

PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
last year
What do you mean by a bar rail? Are you talking about a few railing sections with a flat top to put drinks on? something like this

Vs. Trex Transcend typical railing like this

What type of Trex Decking did you pick for your deck?
older_newbie
Original Author
last year
Yes, the first picture. Wider - about 12 inches. I believe it is Trex Enhance (we picked Clamshell Grey and Enhance is what is available in this color).
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PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
last year
That shouldn't be a problem to put drinks or plates on it, all composite railings get adjustable foot blocks at mid-span... not to mention you can only put so many plates and drinks on it, the weight of which wouldn't affect anything.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
Waht else is going on the deck? IMO this wide bar area will make arranging any furniture a PITA Maybe post a whole picture of the deck. BTW there is IMO no issue with using Trex for this purpose yes there will need to be a bit better support for the wide shelf but nothing major
anj_p
last year
It's called a drink rail. Usually they are not 12" wide though. Trex limits the type of board you can use for these to transcend and select - so that might be why your contractor is telling you you'd need to use real wood. Trex also doesn't come in 12" widths.

https://www.trex.com/products/railing/signature/cocktail-adapters-10-pack-with-fasteners/

Other railing types also have drink rail attachments but if you're using TREX you will be limited to their sizes and drink rail types.

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