The Best Method | Cattle Panel Deck Railing on our Tiny Shed House

Round 3 of our deck build! We finished it... almost.
We found the best method for making these cattle panel deck railings on our shed to house conversion. The railings are strong, secure and pretty. Yea, we could have done it this way in the beginning, but let's just say we were doing it for learning purposes.
Enjoy the video!
Love, The Holt Family

[@estellaknox9285]

Hardworking man to keep his family comfortable and safe looks nice.

[@gregercarter1]

The “Holt Estate” growing step by step, board by board, fence by fence, animal by animal, and most importantly, Holt by Holt! ❤

[@radmilamiljanic5977]

Love that one, bravo!

[@tanstaafl5695]

it may be too hard to do now that you have finished it, but I drilled weep holes in the bottom of each panel to keep water from getting in that groove and sitting. I thought this was a great video.

[@mariemcgillen7401]

We did the same thing and you are correct, more work but much more finished look in the end.

[@rodneyb7918]

Excellent job also having the children involved. Making Memories!

[@deltorres2100]

Oh and I wanna thank Ya your and your Family for Helping out Bri on her Homestead Garden .. “good people doing great things” it’s what it’s all about 🌱🌱💜

[@kenwilliams8897]

Thank you for information I like the last one 👍🏻nice job I’m building a deck get ready for railing system and I’m going use your idle 👍🏻

[@karenalan69]

Did a great job on the deck love watching your videos.

[@sonyagregory5711]

Twirl Away Sweet Little One! Daddy made it safe for you to have a magical place to play on your new deck! Excellent job Ben! Time to cookout again and have a twirling good time!!!🌻🤣❤🙏🍀🌷🌻🦋

[@Kelleena1on1]

I think you need a pool off that deck :-)I’m so so happy your back to share your lives mayJesus bless u nightly.

[@Im-Carley]

You did a great job on the deck railing!

[@donnavickery9623]

The railing looks great !!! You did a great job !!!

[@livinginnevadacountyca]

Thank you! I am going to be trying this soon! I'll let you know how it goes!

[@clarkcarolyn4789]

Looks great, such a wonderful family.

[@o.smallwood4268]

Great Job, now little one is safe to twirl!

[@maggiegreene6696]

Great deck. Great Dad!

[@freefahren]

Great job!!

[@jillyd2807]

Amazing deck! Amazing cartwheels! Be proud! 👏👏👏

[@donweeks5290]

GREAT WORK MR. HOLT. YOUR THE MAN.AMAZED WITH YOUR PATIENCE.WITH THOSE GREAT HELPERS.

[@stanleygallman7800]

It's really good to have this channel creating new videos. I'm almost sure it's nearly a since I last watched one of your videos. Hope that everyone has been well 🙏

[@mzbubbeline]

At first I thought that it was an excessive amount of wood used for the railings on the deck.. but as the video went on, I came to the conclution that you were absolutely right in making it as stirdy as you did (me remembering how my kids/teenagers used the railings 🤒 for seats, to hang over, putting pressure on it, and trying to push their faces through to watch what's going on on the other side (really, there was no need to try to demolish the railings to see through it, but.. kids.. 😅) so.. very good workmanship!! 🤗

[@kathykerst5871]

Lucky Gramma Kathy and Gumpy - we are visiting and enjoying the way we and the family can gather outdoors on the deck, enjoy barbecued beef, watch the chickens and view the granddaughters dancing on the trampoline. And an extra bonus? The deck was built so pickleballs don't roll off the deck at the bottom when we play! As well, love Mabel's cartwheeling.

[@rockydome]

Wow I'm glad to come across this video...this is what I want to do...omg love the look...great job

[@deltorres2100]

Wow YOU DID THAT!!!👍 Looks Great ..I can see some Vines plants 🌱 on there ..but Overall Great Job and Love ya Humor

[@dornie_donko]

Impressive perseverance and fence

[@marksmith9295]

Looks great! Thanks for showing this method. Where I live (Ottawa Valley, Ontario, Canada) and for my deck, I will caulk the bottom sandwich section and use treated wood. Take care and happy homesteading with your wonderful family:)

[@MDTurner]

Great job! We had our house built back in 2015-16 and did some of the work ourselves. I built cattle panel rails for our deck railing and we all love the result. My method was very close to yours, although we had sided pillars that the framer had put on our deck so I built the panels between the pillars, instead of normal posts.

[@maneuschwander6394]

Nice Cartwheels! :)

[@davidmaier343]

Love the cattle fence idea.

[@lindamcwilliams3377]

Nice job Ben and Love the shades 😎

[@mannym.andcoyoteridgemtb171]

Great job. Had to watch this video and another one before giving green light to my project. First, had some clues in how to but wasn’t a 100%. After watching yours, my project is a go. So easy, simple yet stylish!

[@GrowingUpHolt]

You’ve got it for sure!

[@rostamr4096]

I really like your design/idea with the fence and those panels

[@scottieeickhoff4210]

Love the video, I’m about to do the exact same thing.

[@denisscott3073]

Hi guys 👋 just us 2saying hi 👋 what a great job on decking and fencing 👍den and sue from across the pond uk 👍👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🚌🚌🚌

[@hoosierchickencoops]

Looks dang good brother!!! I am getting ready to do the hog panel fence for my half acre in my back yard. Love how you sandwiched the 2x4 cut in half on the ends and Dado the tops and bottoms gonna copy your work.

[@robertdicarlo4490]

Yea !!! Safe twirling !!

[@menschen23]

So the sandwiching of the wire panels is enough? or did you staple the wire to the outside 2x strip before sandwiching with the other strip? I'm reusing some panels from a dog kennel and I might need a thicker gauge. Seems like it wouldn't be rigid enough to keep a kid from pushing through, but maybe I'm underestimating how rigid it is. Love the final look! Nice work.

[@subdawg1331]

well dang now i know how to make my dog run too thank you

[@ehzee9640]

Nice work. So cute with your little girl. Just a word from a worker with longer hair, keep a ponytail band on your drill for when the little one helps 👌

[@LeeRyan72]

Thanks dude.

[@jeremiahmurphy4176]

Great idea I think I would calk the bottom before you put the sides on to prevent water and ice and debris build up you know what mean !???

[@mikeroberts6374]

Coulda bought 1x2 or 2x2 rather than cut a 2x4 in half! I'm doing this and it did turn out good, nice job!

[@glennnelson3275]

Love the video - fixing to take down the stapled-on hog-panel on our deck and inset it like you've beautifully done. One thing I've learned from my test build, a 24" bolt-cutter (can be had for about $30) is the easiest way to cut the hog-panel through. Tried with an angle grinder but felt it was difficult even with a good cutting blade, on top of my general fear of that particular tool.

[@GrowingUpHolt]

Yes, the bolt cutters are awesome for that, and the grinder was the hardest/most dangerous part of that build. Have fun!

[@aristjohns4288]

The panels are galvanized? Will they eventually rust?

[@glennnelson3275]

@@aristjohns4288 Yes, the material is typically sold galvanized. Far as rust goes, the panels on my deck are, best as I can tell, over a decade old with no sign of rust. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains so your mileage may vary on a coastal install with salt in the air.

[@ilanmagen]

Great job, Now you got yourself pocket for water to accumulate on the bottom

[@keithirving272]

Great video, exactly what I was looking for an idea to do my deck railings. Balusters block to much view. Side note: you could be David Spades brother.

[@tablatronix]

I like it

[@terryjones8360]

Looks great! I was wondering what keeps the kids from using the "railing" as a ladder and climbing over it? It used to be code that you could not have horizontal railings for that reason...

[@tylervickers2519]

I thought about ripping a groove in the 2x4 as you mentioned but I was a little concerned with it hold in water

[@patrickobrien8851]

Many thanks for the video. Is that green Douglas Fir you are using, or something else? And 4x4s at the end corners, as well as elsewhere along the railings?

[@stacey8360]

Can u do a tour of the tiny houses and show us how ur using each one and what for???

[@GrowingUpHolt]

Eventually we will ❤️

[@stevesaunders6672]

currently we bury 2 6 X 6 landscape timbers on the flat to set the stringers on, where you set cinder blocks, this negate wood to concrete conection and it allows you atatch the stringers to the timbers with treated screws. your cinder blocks need to be under the heal cut of the stringers, not so forward. that far forward puts the weight on a weak grain pattern As for your cattle panel detail, we run 2 2x4 on edge on the bottom, and sandwich the panel between these, it negates any water retention. When you run that one lower 2x4 on the flat first the 2x2 you use on top of that 2x4 trap water and thats not good, if you can. maybe drill some weep holes in the lower 2x4 to let the water out

[@jasonwhitecotton6851]

I'm assuming instead of ripping 2x4s u cane just use 2x2 and still get a flush fit?

[@Obtuse94]

Yep, but 2x4's are generally cheaper to rip down than the 2x2's. If you don't count the extra labor of ripping them.

[@lauratohome]

How about a gate at the steps how would you do it? I’m doing this on our deck right now and I need a gate instructions.

[@alexandernavarro8602]

Looks awesome - Im about to do the same. For the inset rails did you just rip 2x4s?

[@Люман-ц1ж]

Класс надо и себе так сделать.

[@alliewolf3392]

❤😊❤😊❤

[@builtright3879]

Great job building the railing! I’m building a railing system myself and have not yet decided how I’m going to do it. I have a question and If I missed it in your video or other replies I apologies. Did you drill weep holes at the bottom for water to get through? Was wondering if and how you did that or if you think it is not necessary?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

We didn’t do it, we used pressure treated wood, but there have been multiple comments suggesting that, so it sounds like a good idea

[@woodbutcherjc]

Great job. Only thing I would say, is be careful with your daughter using the drill/Impact. I’ve seen my moms hair get wound up in the drill. Maybe something to consider. Perhaps pull her hair back in a pony tail. Blessings to you and your family. Jim.

[@ryanmullis8109]

Where did you get your hog paneling from?

[@nicholaslopez4572]

The lower horizontal 2x4 on your railing may be prone to holding water.. any issues so far?

[@jeffstefani3225]

Great job, was your spacing for the railing 8 or 10 ft

[@GrowingUpHolt]

8ft

[@chuckaustin3688]

where did you get the wire panel?

[@ryanmullis8109]

Where did you buy the hog panel from?

[@scottieeickhoff4210]

Tractor supply sells them

[@Ahkomaton]

Is that a 2x6 on the top and bottom?

[@rostamr4096]

So, when you cut your 2x4 in half (to get two 2x2)to use for framing the panel, how can that be flushed when there is a wire panel sandwich in between?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

You flip the 2x2 so the ripped part of the board is facing down, so you have the 1.5” width of the board on both sides enabling you to sandwich plus the wire and it ends up flush

[@rostamr4096]

Ahhhh..thanks@@GrowingUpHolt

[@cutplug6365]

Beautiful deck! what gauge wire is the cattle panel?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

It’s 4 gauge

[@Roystunes]

How high is it?

[@rostamr4096]

What is the gage for those cattle panels wire? Can they be painted ? thanks

[@GrowingUpHolt]

of course!

[@ufdalea]

Looking at completing a similiar project. Do you recommend going with what guage panel material? My Farm Fleet offers both a 5 gage, and 4 guage. The 4 guage being about 1/4", and 5 slightly smaller. These are hot dipped after welding. Please advise. Thank you.

[@GrowingUpHolt]

I think the 4 gauge would do better

[@ufdalea]

Thanks. I ended up going with the 5 guage. I did not commercially they are using 6 guage. That might be too thin. The 5 hopefully will work. @@GrowingUpHolt

[@Obtuse94]

​@@ufdaleahow did the 5 gauge work out?

[@pattyf3984]

did you rip a 2 x 4 to get the framing wood for the panels?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

Exactly

[@Bronxtalebronco]

excellent video and exactly what i was hoping to install on my deck. originally thought to go with vinyl clad, but galvanized looks fine. Can you tell me where you sourced the panel and what dimension the opening is?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

Panels were from tractor supply - the opening is roughly 35” x 96” so you can get 2 sections out of each panel. The panels are 60” tall so you have to trim them. We’ve used the trim pieces for other projects

[@Bronxtalebronco]

@@GrowingUpHolt thank you for your quick reply! mind telling me the cost for each panel ? my local tractor supply doesnt seem to list on their webpage

[@nellolarussa2240]

good morning, can you tell me the size of the net you used, thanks

[@GrowingUpHolt]

It’s a standard hog panel from somewhere like tractor supply

[@wdsracer]

Did the top rail begin to sag after a few months?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

Still going strong at this point

[@deboraaragon8026]

...🙂🙂🙂

[@merrymary3133]

Like any good mother, hope Kathy warned you to watch your fingers with those electric tools!

[@cryofthestones333]

How about drainage on the bottom rail?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

Good question. We haven’t had any issues with it so far…

[@cryofthestones333]

Maybe pre-drill drainage holes in the bottom rail flat piece.? I’m going to replace some deck rails and was looking into the hog panels. Looks good 👍

[@dontask7898]

Fast forward the first 5 min to actually get to the hog wire railing.

[@Optimizedforlife]

What kind of fence metal did you use?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

They’re hog panels from tractor supply

[@Mostxclent1]

Dado cut those 2x4's and you're dealing with half the pieces 3/8" x 3/4".

[@valerieforsyth8278]

Wouldn’t ‘t it just have been easier to panelize them and the screw the whole thing into each opening?

[@GrowingUpHolt]

We’ve tried that before, sometimes if your carpentry isn’t perfect (which admittedly ours is not) it can be a struggle making the individual panels fit. Round peg square hole kind of situation

[@claudecjs]

Not code!

[@TheFlanman10]

So this doesn't meet code right?

[@lauratohome]

Long hair and drills don’t go together.

[@Sle267]

Nice work but perfect size for a kids head to fit through. But I don’t think your trying to meet code.

[@scottieeickhoff4210]

4in is code and that’s what hog panels are

[@louisaholman3838]

Great job!