crappy railing ends-caps keep falling off

Teri58 · Mon Sep 08, 2014 3:43 pm

Replaced the crappy deck out front and love it--re-used the old white railing-is pretty nice- however- previous owners- cut the ends of the railings. and smashed them. And when the new caps did not fit- they simply left them off_ sharp!
Bought new caps- the kind made for these kind of rails-- tried using needle nosed pliers and / or tin snips- and many beers- to try and make railings fit to caps-POOH!-used caulk to stick end caps onto railing even though they did not fit- all have resulted in them falling off as soon as anyone bumps them with their hips( and my hips are particulary substancial...)
I give up-- There are 8 railing ends that are sharp and scary.
Anyone have alternative ideas to what I could use to smooth the sharp areas and make cushy? Please note that the previous owner cut down the railing to try to get a good fit-- and - it didnt work and there is no rail left to cut down to try and fit the caps. I am open to making a mold from caulk or plastic dip--. Doesnt have to utilize the cap meant for this railing..- Can also just be something that covers the sharp parts......
Goodness- I dont know if this made sense or not.
I love my deck and porch - but someone is going to lose a finger or tear up their hipbones on these darned rails......

Greg · Mon Sep 08, 2014 6:39 pm

What is the material? Can you post a few pictures?

Greg

HouseMedic · Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:33 pm

Like Gregg said, A picture would help a lot.
If it is aluminum you can file it a little to make it smoother. Also almost like you said you can paint on Plastic-Dip with a little brush and give it about five or six light coats. If it is PVC there is a plastic glue just for the railings or you could use PVC cement for plumbing pipe. Make sure you get the red label (all purpose) glue.

Norm Frechette · Wed Sep 10, 2014 4:26 am

JD · Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:35 pm

That's funny Norm. These are aluminum railing with a weird shape. Kind of fat Christmas tree in silhouette. When the rail ends are new and perfect, the caps are hard to put on, When you finally slip it on, there is a spot on the bottom of the cap that can be screwed to the rail. The plastic cap must be predrilled and you don't want to turn the screws too tight as the plastic would break. If the ends are beyond saving, you could cut tennis balls to go over the end. Be artsy and make a nice fitting cut. Push the ball onto the rail and squish it enough to screw it to the rail. JMO