Cable railing systems, hardware and accessories offered by GauthierDeLaPlante are all made of 316 stainless steel. They fit perfectly for the installation of indoor or outdoor railing. They are made to last for a lifetime and to minimize the visual barriers on your deck or balcony.

Here are 5 important questions to ask yourself when planning a cable railing installation in wood post.

1- Cable railing systems for straight runs or stairs

There are various types of hardware and accessories for cable railings. All kits and assemblies can fit for straight runs on your deck. If you want to install tensioners and wire rope in stairs or angled sections, you should select kits specifically made for this. In the picture below, the 3 kits at the bottom suits for cable railings in stairs.

2 - Types of timber post

All of the cable railing kits we propose to our customers can fits for 4’’x 4’’ wood post. In some setups, tensioners and fittings need to be installed in large timber beam (6’’x6’’ or 8’’x8’’). For these larger wood posts, cable railing systems with turnbuckles are the suited ones (see takeway #3). In our products list, you should choose the Nautica cable railing system or the Sailing Cable railing system.

3 – Tensioning system (inside or outside the wood post)

Inside the post

A turnbuckle is a piece of hardware used to adjust tension in a rope, cable, or other tensioning system consisting of three primary components: a body, a right-hand threaded end fitting, and a left-hand threaded end fitting. When the end fittings are screwed in and the body is rotated in one direction, the inserts are pulled toward the center, retracting to increase tension.

Outside the post

It is possible to tension wire rope with threaded fittings by screwing a nut or a treaded insert outside the posts.

4 – Swage or swageless?

Swaged and swageless cable railing fittings are both good options to tension stainless steel wire rope. Depending on what option you will choose, it will impact the installation methods.

A swage fitting is a wire rope component attached to the wire by compressing the fitting on the wire with a hand crimper or a hand swager. 

Swageless fittings are designed with a locking mechanism to secure the cable railing system. Hence, the is no need to use any specialized tool.

5 – Cost

For any cable railing project, we recommend hardware, wire rope and tensioners to be made with 316 marine grade Stainless steel. Even though it is a bit more expensive than galvanized fittings, Stainless steel is corrosion resistant and can last for a lifetime with a bright finish.

Swageless fittings are generally more expensive than swage fittings. If you have a very large project that includes lot of fittings, you should consider swaged hardware to minimize the cost of you cable railing.