When faced with the challenge of building and installing deck railings myself I opted for a ‘third hand’ solution. This tip works for all types of spindles: solid wood or metal tube. First, I cut my top and bottom rails and mark the spindle layout. Instead of trying to nail spindles through rails or insert spindles into pre installed clips with the rails laid out on the ground or on a set of horses, I use the ‘third hand’ technique. I take two sets of ratchet straps and loop them around both ends of the section of rail. (For wood spindles I nail only the end spindles before applying ratchet straps and for metal tube I place the first two from one end) Next I snug them and can now assemble the railing standing up. Nailing in the wood spindles through rails and flipping over to finish or inserting metal tube spindles into clips one at a time. This method is especially helpful with metal tube spindles as the railing sections have a tendency to fall apart until they are fixed to the posts. Once assembled, with the ratchets still on I move the section into place between the posts. I will also have placed two precut blocks between the posts so the railing will sit at correct height. Finally, I take a third ratchet strap and cinch the posts together at the top. This pinches the posts to the rail and eliminates lateral wandering when I install screws through railing tops and bottoms into the posts. Remove the ratchets straps and move on to the next section. This will also work for stair sections if you are able to install small cleats into the railing sections to catch the ratchet straps.
