Hybrid Cable Railings,Stainless Steel & Wood Differentiation
You know you want cable railings but there are so many ways to get the look you are after. Would you like some help brainstorming a few different styles with their pros and cons? Here are the main things to consider before selecting a type for your project.
Stainless Steel Cable Railings
Ultra Polished 3/16″ Cable 1×19 Strand for Cable Railings
Pros: Beautiful, Stain resistant, Scratches are easily wiped away with a non-ferrous scotch bright pad, the most durable, strongest and the longest lasting rail.
Cons: Most Expensive, Cold in the winter and hot in the summer to the touch, limited hardware options vs wood, longer timeline required for fabrication and drilling.
Wooden Cable Railings
Surface Mount Heavy Duty Toggle Terminal for 3/16″ Cable – Swage
Pros: Least expensive option, many hardware options for every application, installation is forgiving as scratches and imperfect joints are easily repaired with putty, create a soft, warm feel vs. stainless which can appear cold and hard.
Cons: Durability, maintenance is required to protect the wood, larger profile thus impeding part of the view, more flexible and thus more time needed for the system to settle needing more cable adjustment to maintain tension in the beginning, drilling through wood straight for cable is not easy and will be the greatest time-consuming part of cable railings when using wood posts.
Are Hybrid Cable Rails the best of both worlds?
36″ Tall Cable Railing Posts 1×2″ w/ Tilting Top Plate – T316 Stainless Steel *Exclusive*
Can be done with Wood End Posts and Metal Intermediate posts and a wood top or with all metal posts with a wood top.
Pros: No drilling holes for cables, Durability, Strength and modern appearance of the steel with the warmth and softness of wood for the top rail, a little more costly than all wood with almost all of the appeal of the Stainless Steel Hand Rail. Metal posts easily mount to wood top rails.
Cons: The wood parts will need to be maintained.
In conclusion if you need further help making decisions or if we can answer any other questions about cable railings, please feel free to give us a call (801-899-3806) or shoot over an email (support@devlinerail.com) – we’d be happy to assist in any ways possible.