Cable Railing Installation | DIY Bought on Amazon

[@LittleMountainLife]

We just uploaded an updated video on our cable railing. Check it out here! kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHOkloV7bb2LkLc

[@jimmyfavereau]

Great vid LML and castle

[@sirthomas4637]

Did this myself and it works great! Easier than I thought. Saved money too!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Heck yeah! 👍

[@MuzataCableRailingLEDChannel]

Hey, can we see some of your work?😀

[@CecilliaDB]

We have 2 decks to redo and 1 whole new one to build and this is EXACTLY what I want to do for railing. I like that wrapped cable, thanks for sharing the source. Great video.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@auracastro307]

Thank you for sharing. More work for my husband !! Love it ! By the way, beautiful house and beautiful view ! Many blessings !

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching!

[@JulieHBarker]

This has got to be the best DIY video I have ever seen! Thank you so much for making my DIY project so easy. I don't have to do any research beyond what you have already done and I can just click on the links to purchase the same equipment you used.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful!

[@thomasinaleasure7704]

Just followed your same process. Brah…. Fantastic!

[@sherpa972]

Just finished our cable railing, used 3/16in 1-19 SS cable, 68-ft total length so 12 x 2 x 34ft runs. Used a template for drilling the 17 post holes 4x4 with PVC sleeve. Used a pinned coupling nut in the center post. Had to brace the end posts, used 1-1/2 x 3 in steel tubing. No handrail as we wanted clear view to the bay. A couple of screw ups, cable cutter and cable crimper is important. Also bought one of those cable tension tools used on sail boats. 200lbs is code here.

[@OurNewLand]

Man, that looks great! We just started the building of our decks, and your video has convinced us to install our own cable railings. Thanks for the info!

[@squeekhobby4571]

Great choice in terms of cost and look

[@LittleMountainLife]

thanks so much!

[@Citystead]

Friend of mine just did the same style railing, looks super nice and like you said keep that view in tact

[@LittleMountainLife]

Very cool! Yeah it’s all about the view! 🙂

[@johnwilson7680]

We have glass panels and are thinking of replacing them with cable because they fog up quite often. Depending on where you live I think cable is a better choice. Beautiful deck and railing.

[@turbofarviknugnnick5540]

FAAAANCY! Looks AWESOME!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks!! 🙂

[@joeysampaolo8962]

Good job 👍🏼. I’m a general contractor in Califorina and we have 3 decks to do this was very informative thank you.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Appreciate it! Love the cable railing look!

[@MountainRoots]

First, it looks REALLY good! Next, smart move to save $$. And C, really like the use of timestamps on a video like this👍🤙 -Josh

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thank you sir! Glad the time stamps worked well. 🙂

[@MountainRoots]

@@LittleMountainLife yeah man it just makes it easier to navigate the project steps 😁

[@fwbfsh]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching!

[@dberd9149]

This gave me chills. We need The gospel today more than EVER! So thankful it still is! God stepped in for me and saved me from committing this act. He IS AN AWESOME GOD! AMEN!

[@reidlanham2011]

Thank you so much for this! I am wanting to do this on our porch and you laid out everything very nicely!!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@JohnTellu]

Looks incredible, Don - adding this to my saved 'deck ideas' playlist now - great job!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! 🙂

[@somedude-lc5dy]

look into thermally modified decking. it's neat stuff

[@rockybass9764]

That is a really really good video. I tore off rotten deck on our house when we bought and put in a 32 foot wide 16 feet deep deck with my bride when I simply could not do it alone. The deck boards are 16 feet so there is not a single joint on it and I used the Camo deck screw system so you have no visible fasteners. Then came a 13 foot wide 11 foot long covered pavilion to provide shade and cover when it rains. Finally to the deck railings. Expensive is an understatement so we looked and decided to go with cedar post and rails with wire rope vs metal or traditional wood spindles. Used ornamental metal post base’s and rafter clips for the railings. Now I’m drilling the holes in the installed post, using the same jig you used but mine are in place, after doing the first post I commented if I was to do it again I would pre-cut and drill them as you did, good call. How detailed did you to be to get the correct tension on the wire rope? I plan to use the hidden fasteners and don’t want waste any, they are not cheap.

[@kathleenmarshall66]

Awesome deck placement for your house the view and incline, it will be worth it. :)

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thank you! :)

[@MountainRoots]

LOVE your view 🤩🌄

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks man! 🙂

[@80ciocc]

Thanks Don. Good job on the how to video.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching!

[@Edgardocelectric007]

Frost all you didn’t mess it up or made a mistake. So give yourself a big pat on the back and atta-boy😃😃😃😃Secondly it looks 👍 great 👍 I love it way to go

[@WorkingAussiesHomestead]

This turned out great man! Not sure if we will be adding any decks to this house but will be saving this for later no matter what!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thank you! :)

[@AZHighlandHomestead]

Love it, just wish you had a recommendation that wasn’t on Amazon. I avoid shopping there as much as possible.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! You can certainly buy direct from Muzata if that’s what you prefer 🙂

[@AZHighlandHomestead]

@@LittleMountainLife I may actually do that. We need to redo our old deck and are planning to build it out a little more and put a roof on it to keep the snow off. We have discussed closing in the bottom with paneling to make it more of an Arizona room, but we would miss our awesome view of the canyon behind us and the ability to see our garden and chickens out our kitchen windows. This cable railing seems like a better, low maintenance solution than glass that we would need to clean all the time. Do you think the vinyl coating will hold up for many years? Our intense Arizona sun destroys things quickly. Thanks for the reply! -Nick 😃👍

[@LittleMountainLife]

@@AZHighlandHomestead Definitely easier to clean than glass! haha Time will tell on the vinyl wrap but I optimistic it'll hold up well. :)

[@glyphic313]

31k!!!! Good lord!!

[@KBotkin1]

Great Video. You make it look so easy. I currently have vertical wood rails so I'm going to take them out and put in the cable for a better view, so I will have to drill my posts already installed. On your recommendations both the 85' rolls and the 500' rolls say not suited for cable railings....is that just a "cya" on their part our is it an issue using that. You listed 3 different cables, which one did you use? Thanks!

[@ELIRAXPRT]

nice work it looks awesome

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thank you!!

[@TheHomesteadJourney]

Looks really nice!!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thank you!

[@jakedougherty3882]

Man I love what y’all are doing. I want to do the same but icf

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks!

[@invictus5fdp]

Amazon says "Please note that this ID3/32" OD1/8" is NOT for cable railing due to code compliance" on the coated cabel

[@davidrobertson606]

Your deck looks good. Is the coating on the wires rated for outdoor use. No idea what the code in your area is; but in our area railings have a load rating. Do the fasteners meet the load requirements for your area. Assume you will get railing inspected. You may want to have loading information on fasteners from the manufacture when inspector does the final on your deck. Price for your deck seems reasonable. We built a 500 sqft cedar deck 10 feet up for 17K in 2016. We have glass railing but got it for 1,000. It was tempered 1/4" from a project that the glass was the wrong size. In all we have 65 feet of glass. Do you plan on coating or staining we left wood natural. Looks fine.

[@jeffreynewton8960]

Great video, thanks for sharing! I’m having trouble with the little wrench that Muzata supplied though, they bend very easily when tightening down the L & R lag bolts!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! I actually never used their wrench and instead used my own combination of wrenches and pliers.

[@jimmyfavereau]

Beautiful! you mentioned that you saved alot but didnt say how much? thanks for the info and LOVE the castle

[@ExtremeRecluse]

What if the cables loosen over time?

[@NeilSpoonhower]

Thanks for taking the time to post this. Nice job all around. Do you need to have anchors for every section or just the ends? I'm guessing since your drilling all the way through the thought is one line passed the entire way through and tighten it on either end??

[@LittleMountainLife]

Sure, thanks for watching! The cable does pass through the middle posts until anchoring at the corner posts. Posts are 5' apart.

[@Justfed1]

Came to this video to learn how to do the 45 degree corners. Seems like you started to explain...and then jumped ahead?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Didn't bend any corners here. Each run of cable is straight terminating at post ends and starting new again on the second post in the same corner.

[@te34]

Did you cut the wood posts for facia attachment?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Posts have slight bevel cut at the bottom

[@kevindeanpass8319]

Thanks for the great video. Did you have to come back and re tighten the cables after a few months?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! Yes a couple definitely needed tightening but I expected that. 👍🙂

[@SherryYarkosky]

Do you have any tips on measuring the cable so that when you tighten the Left and Right anchors the threads do not show?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Not really. Just eyeballed it as tight as possible and used the tightening of the anchors to pull full tight.

[@jamesadams7212]

Great video. Question from a first-time crimper : I was trying to figure out what size head to use on my hydraulic crimper I just bought. I believe I have the same fittings with 1/8 inch cable that you are using. It looks like you have a number 8 crimper head. Is that right? How do you tell what number head is for what size crimp? Mine didn’t come with any helpful information. Thanks

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks Thinking back I do think it was 8 but I remember going down a size to get a tighter crimp and hold. My crimping experience was very much trial and error and I sacrificed a couple of anchors to get the right fit. Sorry I can't be of more help.

[@jamesadams7212]

@@LittleMountainLife Thanks for the reply.

[@jeffdoggendorf3933]

Great video and timestamps! Thanks very much for sharing. I am doing the same thing on my deck based on your video. Did you need to remove the vinyl coating from the part of the wire that is going into the connectors?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! Definitely did not remove the vinyl. I feel it helps the crimp bite and hold a lot better with the vinyl wrapped cable.

[@c0pyimitati0n]

$31k for a deck!!?? Bruh...why didn't you build that yourself?

[@thenickmastr]

How long was the longest cable run between termination? I’ve read that 4 foot is the max, but seems in your case this is working longer.

[@LittleMountainLife]

I have the longest runs at the full 40’ width of the deck. I haven’t read anything about termination length restrictions but there is a maximum post spacing dictated by your local code. Our posts are 5’ apart.

[@kristab6862]

I read in the description that the spacing between the end posts should not exceed 15 feet, and the the space between the post (the ones placed between the end posts) should not exceed 4 feet

[@smurray470]

What post spacing did you go with? It looks slightly larger than the 4 feet I see recommended. I was hoping to go at 6 foot spacing.

[@LittleMountainLife]

5 feet

[@huntermac8970]

Funny, I just watched this on the anniversary of the post! Just a quick question though, once the cable is crimped in, you screw the connection points in further to tension the cable, correct?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Haha thanks for watching! Yes after crimping you'll screw in both ends to make the cable tight.

[@MandRroofing]

Having a hard time finding this vinyl coated that is suitable for decking railing. Any suggestions?

[@LittleMountainLife]

The link in the description is for the 500' roll. It's out of stock right now but the company has smaller rolls available now.

[@MandRroofing]

@@LittleMountainLife thanks,can you send me a link for the smaller rolls? I could only find indoor cable

[@LittleMountainLife]

@@MandRroofing the 'indoor' cable is used by many for outdoor projects. amzn.to/3nIdjqe I used it for the deck railing and it's held up great

[@MandRroofing]

@@LittleMountainLife Thanks! Sorry for all the questions...do you like the black with the stainless hardware rather than black hardware?

[@LittleMountainLife]

@@MandRroofing don’t think the black hardware was available when we installed, otherwise I would’ve picked that. Haha

[@mrcrb1982]

On my deck I used the turnbuckles to secure the cable to the post, but Im using the Left and Right Screws system on the N-Laws deck. My question, can you make turns/corners using these screw ends? I was told no more the 2 or 3 - 90 degree turns/corners when I used the Turnbuckles. I have not seen/read any info with the left and right scew ends.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Cool! I have not attempted corners but I know they make hardware specifically for that purpose.

[@davidbuntin7403]

Great video! Thank you. What is the distance from center of post to center of post? Looks awesome!

[@LittleMountainLife]

5’ post spacing. Thanks for watching!

[@davidbuntin7403]

@@LittleMountainLife Thanks!

[@combobulated100]

Looks fabulous. Did the tension on the cables change over time? If so how did you retension it?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! Yes we have used a wrench to tighten the cables since the original installation.

[@professorhootu]

Did you have to strip the vinyl back before putting in the bolt and crimping?

[@LittleMountainLife]

No. Did not strip.

[@LuisGarcia-io6kk]

How did you pass inspection in Virginia what spec/data sheet did you provide inspector

[@LittleMountainLife]

Only thing inspector was concerned about was the cable spacing. 4 inch max between cables

[@geoffreybram1409]

Do you have a video of your metal cable railing install?

[@kevinbhar9210]

How did you put tension on the wire?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Twisting the anchors forcing them deeper into the post and pulling on the cables.

[@brianmcneese9425]

I know this was a year ago, but I'm about to do this install on my deck. I was wondering if you had some kind of guidelines of how much slack to have in the cable before crimping. In other words, I don't want to have too much of thread exposed after tightening. Or, is it a trial and error type of thing? Thanks, liked the video.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! Definitely a bit of trial and error, but I generally left about 3 full threads exposed before tightening the anchors. And at that I had the cables hand tight as they stretch a little when tightened.

[@edwardhill6945]

Don’t use trial & error, you’ll waste fittings & cable. Most systems have a mark on the fitting for cable length. When using lag screws, you want the entire thread to be inside the wood, in order to give the greatest holding strength. Search KZbin, I’m sure there is a video on getting the measurements right the first time,

[@jamesadams7212]

Another question. What’s the distance between wood posts? I realize this may be determined by local code. Thanks.

[@LittleMountainLife]

5'

[@3sixtynow850]

@@LittleMountainLife I thought with a cable railing system you aren't supposed to go over 4' spacing for the posts.

[@fabiansandoval6132]

In california its defintely 4 feet. Other states who knows.

[@Scapula334]

Thanks for the video, nice job on the deck. I read through the questions and comments and couldn’t find an answer to these; what size is the drill bit that you have in the drill guide attachment? (For the pass through cable). Also do the Muzata swage lag screws come with an appropriate sized drill bit? If not, what size drill bit is required. Thanks for the reply.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! 1/4" drill bit. The lag screws do include the drill bits.

[@WERDNA2356]

Great video! What length did you measure your cable to? And how far into the posts did you drill your anchors before you tightened them?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! The longer side is 40' long and I just un-spooled the cable from one end to the other without really measuring. Pilot holes for the anchors were about 1" deep if I recall. I just eyeballed it based on the length of threads available on the anchors.

[@wadeadams1136]

Your deck looks awesome and thanks for sharing this video. I'm looking at running a 30' span connecting on the end posts only. You mentioned you ran a 40' length but were contemplating cutting in half. Seeing you used protective sleeves in your intermediate post, which I plan on using as well, wouldn't these holes now be too big to accommodate the lag screws?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! Yes the holes in the middle posts would be too large to accommodate the lag screws I used. So far the 40' length is working out okay though.

[@wadeadams1136]

@@LittleMountainLife thanks! I may have a few more questions once I start installing.

[@tonymarrazzo354]

I am going to do a cable railing, and still looking for options. I am wondering how long the plastic coating will last in the sun and weather?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! You can certainly opt for the plain stainless steel but I think the black vinyl wrap should last a good long time.

[@ilyaroslov6502]

Is it cedar or pine?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Pine

[@edwardott685]

$31000 for the deck!! Is it gold plated?Railing looks good.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! haha with today's lumber prices and the high cost of everything in Northern VA, 31,000 is not unreasonable. They were one of 3 company's I had do an estimate and their price was in the middle.

[@brianscott3021]

Pneumatic or hydraulic

[@louisjames3]

Good work!! What do you recommend as far as the maximum length of a cable run ... given the end anchors screw into the end posts only so deep? Thx

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thank you! 20' is totally doable. We have the long side at 40' but the cable, though tight, has a bit more flex than I'd prefer. Might end up cutting that in half sometime.

[@xjmllc]

@@LittleMountainLife maybe 1x19 cable vs 7x7 would help.

[@richardjackson6708]

how much slack do you leave when crimping the ends and before tightening the cable? Also what about installing thru the corner post with one cable i.e. L-shape? So I would have a 12' run on each side of the corner or am i asking for trouble?

[@LittleMountainLife]

I tried to tighten the cable as much as possible to avoid needing to wrench down on the anchors too much after crimping. They do make corner specific hardware but I personally would have an anchor on each side of the post. You do you though, I don't think you would hurt anything rounding the corner with a single run.

[@richardjackson6708]

@@LittleMountainLife the more I look on you tube, im going to stick with using the L/R connectors on each end post and not try to bend around the corner. I am also seeing intermediate post on most of the decks. I have a couple of areas on my existing deck that are 8' between the 4 x 4 post. trying to avoid to many 4 x 4's but i dont know if an 8' run is too long a run, (or maybe even a code issue?)

[@LittleMountainLife]

@@richardjackson6708 we did posts every five feet and I believe that was the max spacing for our code.

[@patriotzero7758]

Our posts are 9’ apart. How many of these sections would be the limit for the hardware you used?

[@LittleMountainLife]

I have had no issues with the 40' runs of cable on the long side of the deck. However my posts are 5' apart to meet code requirements. I would think that 9' posts would allow too much flex in the cable.

[@joerod6106]

did you have to cut off vinyl coating to fit into anchors @ corners? just curious if it will fit being 3/16 of an inch

[@LittleMountainLife]

Did not strip any vinyl before inserting in the anchors.

[@joerod6106]

Thank you for responding. Looking forward to project!

[@kaijufan0014]

Nice, hi, and how is duck and chicken going

[@LittleMountainLife]

Hey! They are all doing well!

[@kaijufan0014]

Oh okay

[@jordanthistle2360]

You could have done this so much cheaper. Also I'm am not seeing the reason why you made your gaurd rail so bulky. You should have just went with a cheap metal tubing around the deck. Would have been cheaper and been less bulky keeping as much of that view as possible. House looks great though, did you run your deck from your joists ? Or do you have footing and columns.

[@LittleMountainLife]

We prefer the look of the wood rail over the tube rail, thanks though. 🙂 Deck is free standing with its own footings and posts. 👍

[@edwardhill6945]

Don’t forget how much total tension will be held by the end posts on a run with 10 cables. Each cable is tensioned to 75-100lb, that is a hell of a pull with all 10 of them. Having a 2x6 guard rail, with 2x4 under makes for a rail that won’t bend, & folks feel safe leaning on it. Large enough to set a drink down also. In the total build, the guard rail is a rounding error.

[@victorvek5227]

$31,000 and that’s without balusters!?

[@LittleMountainLife]

31,000 included all the railing except the cable and hardware.

[@victorvek5227]

@@LittleMountainLife damn bro. Might as well have gone with trex wood at those prices. What a crazy time we are living in.

[@LittleMountainLife]

@@victorvek5227 pretty normal price for the area I’m in.

[@LittleMountainLife]

FYI: We put in chapter timecodes if yall need to jump around for specific parts of the video Have you ever been on a deck with cable railing?

[@Edgardocelectric007]

Oh yes not the same as yours one thing to worry about the covering doesn’t hold up to well to weather and sun, I think I would have gone with bare stainless steel myself. I love the style of your home too, you folks have done a superb job.👍👍👍

[@pvcannon2958]

@@Edgardocelectric007 exactly what I was going to ask. Will the vinyl coating hold up? Is it worth the risk?

[@LittleMountainLife]

@@pvcannon2958 Vinyl is holding up great so far! Just uploaded a new video talking about it.

[@henrysmifth536]

31k for a deck 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤯

[@LittleMountainLife]

Yeah a hard pill to swallow but we don’t regret hiring it out. The price was pretty competitive for the northern VA area with the lumber prices being so high.

[@henrysmifth536]

@@LittleMountainLife yes sir I understand all of the science and technical stuff that went into your deck What beautiful deck it is

[@stevegunderson2392]

Cable railing is not going to survive a kid stepping on the cables like a ladder...they stretch! If they stretch past the adjustment bounds your stuck replacing hardware. That is pretty easy.... I chose to use electrical conduit...cheaper by far and easier to replace. tougher than the 1/8" cables by far.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Yeah there is certainly the risk of a kid doing that. We are training them the best we can... haha

[@blakeerdmann]

Electrical conduit will just bend and look bad.

[@jackvillan5151]

Good god man show us the install and less Unnecessary jabbering

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching 👍

[@yoooo3231]

What did you use for top rail guard

[@LittleMountainLife]

The top of the rail is a 2x6

[@ryanc7396]

Looks great! What is your post spacing??

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! 5’