Missed a bunch of salmon season due to redoing some parapet walls over a garage-top deck that were starting to show some water damage. Quotes to have a guy do it were nuts, like new car nuts... So then the race was on before the big wet starts. Had to take down a bunch of rotting fencing and pull back parapet caps and remove dubious wood and replace with more durable stuff.
Pics are 12 years old and back then it all looked good, but all that lattice rots over time and it's a pain to re-oil and clean debris out from between the 4/4 and behind the lattice. Plus I am not sure lattice would suffice for code-appropriate fence. In 2026, If a kid went fast into the lattice, let alone an adult, they would keep going.
Back then there was a roof-top garden, pic below, that was well engineered for weight though the waterproofing was dubious, My son and I redid all the waterproofing on that area a few years ago and there's a small second deck up there instead of the garden. It felt good to get rid of a huge weight burden of wet soil up there! (That garden looked cool for a while but a rooftop garden on a wooden structure is a dumb idea. Plus the original owner overplanted EVERYTHING). Now there's a bunch of pot plants and hammock and in general a more useable space.
Anyway, a key area I don't want to have to mess with over time is where the power lines come in, so particular attention was there to make sure it was stupid dry and protected
So now where the wood lattice was I am planning on running horizontal cable wires to the vertical 4*4 which remain solid although top lag bolts and fixation were revised with new pressure-treated wood. There's new flashing and membrane and all that. I oiled the exposed wood, replaced what needed to be replaced, redid caulk lines and will get to some of the repaint hopefully this weekend, It's 98% weather ready, before the real wet starts. So goal of beating the weather is basically done....
(The good news is after the take down of the rotten/rotting parts, the old membranes held, the water damage was only on parapet rail placed on top of the membrane.... nothing like a wood house in the pacific NW!)
So now I am just ready for cable rails. never done them before but wanted low maintenance, more view and light, and relatively easy to repair and tighten. I am familiar with coding and spacing and there are new wooden top rails at just over 42 inches from deck.
Looks doable, I have the supplies, cables going into wood 4*4s. Given top priority is safety/upto code and next is looking straight and level, any tips from the hive brain?
Pics are 12 years old and back then it all looked good, but all that lattice rots over time and it's a pain to re-oil and clean debris out from between the 4/4 and behind the lattice. Plus I am not sure lattice would suffice for code-appropriate fence. In 2026, If a kid went fast into the lattice, let alone an adult, they would keep going.
Back then there was a roof-top garden, pic below, that was well engineered for weight though the waterproofing was dubious, My son and I redid all the waterproofing on that area a few years ago and there's a small second deck up there instead of the garden. It felt good to get rid of a huge weight burden of wet soil up there! (That garden looked cool for a while but a rooftop garden on a wooden structure is a dumb idea. Plus the original owner overplanted EVERYTHING). Now there's a bunch of pot plants and hammock and in general a more useable space.
Anyway, a key area I don't want to have to mess with over time is where the power lines come in, so particular attention was there to make sure it was stupid dry and protected
So now where the wood lattice was I am planning on running horizontal cable wires to the vertical 4*4 which remain solid although top lag bolts and fixation were revised with new pressure-treated wood. There's new flashing and membrane and all that. I oiled the exposed wood, replaced what needed to be replaced, redid caulk lines and will get to some of the repaint hopefully this weekend, It's 98% weather ready, before the real wet starts. So goal of beating the weather is basically done....
(The good news is after the take down of the rotten/rotting parts, the old membranes held, the water damage was only on parapet rail placed on top of the membrane.... nothing like a wood house in the pacific NW!)
So now I am just ready for cable rails. never done them before but wanted low maintenance, more view and light, and relatively easy to repair and tighten. I am familiar with coding and spacing and there are new wooden top rails at just over 42 inches from deck.
Looks doable, I have the supplies, cables going into wood 4*4s. Given top priority is safety/upto code and next is looking straight and level, any tips from the hive brain?
