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Build this front porch railing with our easy to follow, step-by step tutorial made with composite decking boards. It’s the perfect enclosed addition that will complete and compliment your front porch, patio, or deck.
When planning the design of our front porch we knew we needed a railing for our outdoor space. We have a newly built home, and the exterior railing was not included nor required with the build. Not only do railings for front porch add character to your home but the enclosed space helps with the kiddos jumping or falling off, makes your space feel more private (especially if you like to sit out there) and/or get packages at your front door quite often.
If you are looking for porch railing ideas as well, it’s likely you’re in the designing phase and on the hunt for porch railing designs like we were. That is until we came up with our own which I would consider more of a modern porch railing.
So, today I’m sharing with you the finished product of our front porch with railing using grey composite decking to match our privacy wall we built (plus matches our dark gray Urban Iron siding), as well as how you can build your own DIY outdoor railing.
BEFORE:
If I take you way back, this is our front porch when we first moved in and before we got started with both the front porch railing and the privacy wall we added.
In this more recent before, you can get a better idea from the photo of our last project, which was finishing up this privacy wall as mentioned above.
AFTER:
To bring the whole look together we added the DIY railing with the same grey composite boards. Check out the after now!
I should also throw it out there, don’t put too much attention on our lacking flower beds pictured. That’s the next outdoor project we’ll be tackling.
How To Build A Porch Railing
Tools Required:
Drill/Driver (this combo kit we bought includes both)
Kreg jig + 2.5″ exterior screws (comes with this kreg kit) (optional if preferred)
Materials Needed:
Gray Composite screws (choose colors that will match your boards so they’ll be less visible)
Spray paint (we used charcoal gray to match our decking boards)
1/4 x 2 3/4 concrete masonry screw anchors
.5″ shim (we used a scrap piece of wood we had laying around, choose a board that will be the thickness of your liking for the gaps in between)
Composite decking boards (we chose grey composite decking to match our home)
Step 1.
Measure & Cut
Cut two sides at 35 5/8 inches tall. Cut the bottom and top piece to the width of your space minus your two side boards. We laid our two sides out first and measured between them to get an exact measurement.
Step 2.
Put DIY Railing Frame Together
Lay your frame out and screw them together with 2.5 inch exterior screws.
After the frame is built, measure and cut your inside height then attach to the center using same decking screws. If your space has trim on your pillars like ours, you can either cut the trim to fit your rail in between or you can do what we did and just add a treated board in the gap. (Do not forget to paint those pieces if so, as referred to in step 3).
We just ripped a scrap piece of treated 2×4 down to size and painted.
Step 3.
Paint Outdoor Railing Frame
Spray paint the rest of your frame (at least the parts of the board you will see beneath the decking boards) before installing. We chose a charcoal gray that matched perfectly with our grey decking boards.
Step 4.
Install Your Railing Frame
Put your frame in place, level, and fasten to the concrete using a hammer drill for holes and 1 1/4 x 2 3/4 concrete screws. (You may need a hammer to knock in position).
We put one exterior screw in each side just to hold it in place while we drilled the concrete holes.
Then use the exterior screws for the sides.
Step 5:
Add Composite Decking Boards
Cut your composite decking boards to the correct length to cover your installed frame going all the way across to your posts on your porch (patio or deck if that’s the case for you).
You are now ready to attach the composite boards to the installed frame. It’s vital to level the first board so the rest sit right. We put two composite decking screws in each of the two ends and the middle of the boards. Repeated this process on the other side as well.
As you are adding boards on both sides, in order to keep gaps perfect, slip in a temporary .5″ shim (or a board with what size gaps you prefer) between each of them. If you have the base trim at the bottom and elected to not cut it (like we did) then you will need to notch your composite boards which was super easy using this multi-tool.
Lastly, attach your top handrail composite board.
There you have it, our finished porch rail. Our front porch is coming along nicely now, as you can see, we got some furniture out there. At this point we just need to get ahold of our flower bed.
