Hello. I’m building a new/rustic cabin on a small lake in Montana. For the balcony we used a cable rail (with a salvaged wood topcap to mute the modern look) to maximize veiws. It looks great but the homeowners would like a warmer look for the loft rail inside, although keeping an open look and not interfering with veiws is still key. They saw a picture of a rope rail in a book and we were thinking that might be an elegant solution, but I’m not sure how to make it work. I’m picturing a small metal plate with a hole in the middle that the rope could pass through and then be knotted to secure it. The plate, which would have to bubble out and have enough room behind it to hold the knot, could then be screwed to the posts. Does anything like this exist? Does anyone else have ideas about how to attach the ends of the rope and make it look nice and clean?
Thanks! I look forward to your suggestions.
Replies
Just my opinion but doubt if it would pass. Do not think you can keep rope tight enough to not give greater than the max allowable spacing. Also UV degradation and rot if exposed to sun (in or out) and/or moisture (outside) would weaken it over time. There may be some rope with cable center that might work.
I believe many AHJ's will not allow horizontal rungs as they become ladder fot kids to climb.
I think even if you boxed the end and used turnbuckles for each run it would not hold 4" in center span. Difficult enough with cable.
How about epoxy coated rebar painted brown or left green? EMT spiral wound with small rope?
I would talk to my inspection dept to see what they would approve.
Bob
We've done 5/8" rebar, vertically, with 4x4 rails. Its strong, easy to see through and not very expensive.
3/4" holes allow you to beat the rebar through the 4x. Then cap it with something. We left the rust and clear coated.
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The rope would have to be kept taut to meet code.
You can always drill a hole through the post and counterbore the far side to conceal a knot. But that doesn't allow it to be tightened. For the tightening point probably some sort of built-up hollow post is a better approach.
Be sure to use a rope that is stretch-resistant.
If you're looking for rustic, how about copper pipe, painted rebar or black steel (gas) pipe?
Rope seems like it would stretch and sag over time, esp. with different environmental conditions. There was an architect in Tucson that use to use heavy rope (sisal maybe?) as a crown moulding. Heavy and rustic but it fit the design perfectly.
i've seen quite a few "rope" rails
they are actually quite safe and give the rustic look you are looking for
think "hawser" insteadc of rope... like hawsers used by ships & tugboats
also.. i've seen a couple that used brass oarlocks as the rail brackets... the oarloks were drilled into the wall at about 4' centers
the sag from the straight line was about 3"... the rail gave a strong sense of security...
the ends were let thru holes drilled in oak rosettes and the bitter ends were secured blind within the walls
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