Code here is 600 mm (approx. 2'). Legal and safe are two different things. At the least, put in lots of bushes and mulch with no decorative rockscaping.

I think it would look very nice with the right railing, so if you feel that you need a railing, it will look excellent.

I suspect if it slopes a lot, the inspector will balk. But then again I don't where you are but Weycroft sounds familiar. 30+slope - I'd do a railing. This coming from someone with 25 and no railing. My wife misses the railing from a visual standpoint

I vote for no railing. I used to own an old bungalow whose front porch had no railing (built pre-code). I loved the open feeling from not having the railing. And when I sat in a chair on the porch, there was no visual obstruction.

With regard to the slope to the neighbor's driveway, it looks like someone would have to run and catapult themselves off your porch to end up on the drive. Not likely to happen.

But in the end, go for what you think you'd like better visually.

Thanks for the replies. I don't think it's a huge safety concern so might come down to which we think will look better. Maybe the inspector will make us put up railing and the decision will be made for us.

David_Cary, Weycroft is on the other side of town off of 540 and 55.

tooskinneejs, the image of someone getting a running start and jumping off the front porch made me laugh. But might actually be something my kid would do, hmmm.

fish7577, I found your pics in the June progress thread. Your porch with rails look very nice. I think I am leaning towards doing the railing now.

I posted this same question when we were finishing our house a year ago (I think the results were about 50/50). We decided to keep them off until we finished the landscaping, then decide (good suggestion given here). On our house, I prefer it without them. I think your house will look great with or without them.

It will look more closed in with landscaping high enough to prevent falls than it would with a railing.

I didn't mean that you should put trees and shrubs in high enough to prevent anyone from falling off your porch; just that the house will look different once the landscaping is completed. Additionally, you will likely have some sort of landscaping (narrow tree or shrub) on the corner before anyone would hit your neighbors driveway.

I would definitely put a rail on the side that slopes. A child could easily fall off and injure themselves.

Make sure you have good insurance.

Well that comment was kind of snarky, brickeyee.

Well, we do have a nice umbrella policy but hope we never have to use it.

Our realtor suggested maybe putting railing on the sides only. I was thinking maybe wrought iron railing. Do you guys think it would look weird if we put the railing on the sides only? Anyone got some good photoshop skills they want to show off? :-)

Yes, would look weird, at least to me.

IMHO, our society today is way too litigious. In the past, if a kid fell off a two foot porch, they would have gotten yelled at for being too rowdy and not paying attention.

I like the look of no railing myself, and that's what we're going with. We have a nice view from the front of the house, so we see ourselves sitting out there--a rail would make the porch seem smaller and block the view somewhat from a seated position. Maybe you could plant something on either side of the porch? I love your house, and it'll look good either way you decide to go.

We drove through Weycroft dozens of times while house-hunting, but in the end, we wanted a larger lot. But boy would it be a convenient place for us to live. Our apartment is only about a mile from there--as it is, I have a 30-mile drive to go check on our house. Hubby would've loved the same commute as now, but alas, when we chose to build in our location, we didn't like the congestion here (having moved from the MUCH less congested midwest); however, we've been here a year now and I'm used to it and will even miss this side of the Triangle. It'll be like moving all over again!

If it's more than a single step from the porch to the ground, that's a hazard without a rail. 30" is way to lax a code, IMHO. Your access steps should also have rails.

"Well that comment was kind of snarky, brickeyee."

Why?

Any visitor that falls will have a claim.

Complying with the code minimum will not assure a win in a civil case.

The use of traditional porch posts on stone piers appears incomplete, even unfinished without the railing normally used for such designs.

Guards and handrails would add a much needed personal scale to the house, emphasize the center entrance stair and door, and soften the abruptness of the stone piers by giving them a more functional purpose.

tracey_b, do you have pics of your house? How high off the ground is your front porch? I've read some of your posts (house audio) and didn't realize you were local. Which part of the triangle are you building in? The traffic can get pretty congested on 55 but I think the new section of 540 will help once that opens up. Part of the reason we chose Weycroft is the proximity to work since my wife and I both work in RTP. The lots are actually bigger than most of the new construction in that part of town but they are still on the smaller side. I think we got the biggest lot in the neighborhood at .47acres. :-) Our apartment is only a few miles away so we go and check on the house almost daily.

Good luck with your build.

The most precious thing is your health.It is only a
matter of time when you forget about missing rails
and drop down. It is better to make rails now than
sorry about not doing it in future.

Here is a link that might be useful: House building in Russia

Weiyan8--we're building just barely over the northern part of the county line, due north of R. We have 1.5 acres and for the first time I am realizing how much yard work I'm going to be doing! Yikes. So, right now in this heat, your .47 acres looks good :-) And you're right--that IS a good sized lot for your area. One house we were interested in there at your sub/div was in the Parade of Homes last year, but the houses were way too close around it.

I've probably driven past your house, but because it's still under construction, not paid much attention to it. I drive through when I need ideas--first exterior colors, then front door stain, and now landscape ideas. I'm always driving through yours and H.C. sub/div for ideas because it's so close to our apt. You do have a nice commute, and my husband is going to miss it. (Aren't you glad that road got re-surfaced before you moved in? We had a bad 5-mile stretch--worse than GLTD if you can belive it--that JUST got re-done. Perfect timing).

I'll post some pics later. Since our grading was done, the height of our porch is much better, but I don't have a pic of it lately. It looks like you have at least 1 more step than we do. If you have little ones, I'd probably put up the rails--maybe even in my situation, but I don't.

It's exciting to get so close to move-in, isn't it? Good luck and hope you enjoy your new home.

Tracey

Thanks for all the input guys. We have decided to do the rail. Partly for safety reasons and partly for what Macv said, the columns look incomplete without the rails. It would have worked better if the wood columns went all the way down and not have the stone pillars.

Now, what do you guys think for railing? We were thinking simple black wrought iron. Any other good options?