Cable railing used to be something found mainly in warehouses and out-of-the-way areas in commercial and industrial buildings. In recent years, however, more projects than before involve steel cable railings. If you’re located in the Portsmouth, NH or Portland, ME areas and you’re considering a cable railing for your next project, or the plans are already drawn up and you need cable railing installation, there are some compelling reasons to contact American Aerial Services.
Why Cable Railings?
Design elements that used to be considered minimalist or a bit too industrial are having a moment lately. Cable railings’ minimalism makes them unobtrusive enough to add a touch of class, and their clean lines ensure that they look like they belong in anything from a bright atrium or gallery to a high-traffic area in an urban shopping center. There’s a catch, of course; installed improperly, you’ll have something that simply looks slapped together rather than complimenting your space.Cable Railings and Safety
Regardless of their appearance and differences in materials used, all railings share one thing in common: they ensure safety. All else being equal, any material — wood, composite, steel tubing, cable — should perform just as well in terms of safety. But here, too, there’s something to bear in mind: proper installation matters. If the materials used are substandard, if the design is poor, or the implementation is shoddy, having a poor railing in place is tantamount to having none-at-all. In short, if safety matters, so too does professional installation.Cable Railings and Building Codes
In addition to design, materials, and construction, there’s one more way to ensure that a cable railing is up to snuff: building codes. These codes will vary by state, and occasionally by city. They will also differ between residential and commercial projects and will be different for stairs than they are for docks, decks, and other structures.Not only will permits be required, so is an inspection when work is completed. The spacing of posts and cables, cable gauge and tension, the materials used, the amounts of weight and stress they can handle, and proper handrail and guardrail height will all be subject to close scrutiny — with no room for error. Make a mistake, which happens all too often in DIY installations, and you’re looking at time-intensive and expensive fixes.
Why Professional Installation Matters
That brings us to a closing thought. Like you, we’ve seen prefab cable railing kits online. We know that it can be tempting to go that route, but we’d ask you a question before you press that “buy” button. Given everything you’ve read up to this point — not just the esthetic considerations when it comes to cable railing installation, but also code requirements, and the chance of a miscalculation or a bit of inexperience undermining the safety of your building and its occupants, is saving a few bucks really worth it?
With American Aerial Services, you’re getting quality materials and expert workmanship. This isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve installed dozens of cable railings, to the point where we’ve got it down to a science. Unlike a well-intentioned but inexperienced do-it-yourselfer, there’s no guesswork for our crews, so you’ll never have to second-guess quality or safety. With that in mind, contact American Aerial Services for your next cable railing installation, crane rental, or a host of other construction and steel erecting needs.
