I think cables suit your home. I wonder if glass is used mostly where a wind break is needed. I also know it's used when there's a view you don't want to block. But neither seems to be the case for your home. I would think that they'd be just as much work to clean as windows.

How is the interior coming along?

Thanks mayflowers. Unfortunately nothing in the interior is moving fast. It is just so hard to plug away at this massive project while working/parenting. It is mainly DIY now. At least we have heat now (we have lived in the home throughout construction and the cold interior temperatures were the worst).

A wind block is an interesting advantage, as that might allow us to us it more in the spring/fall. The deck is north facing, and we are in southern Canada. From the deck you can see quite a distance as the property is up on higher ground.

Why do you say the cables would be as much work to clean as the glass railings? I would have assumed cables would be much more maintenance free.

Carol

The glass would be like cleaning windows, not the cables. Do you plan on sitting out on the deck much? I don't know if the glass would extend the season.

Cables, for the reasons mentioned by mayflowers.

Cables

Thanks mayflowers for clarifying your point on maintenace. I do think we will use the deck. Our teenage sons will anyway.

Thanks chispa for your vote for the cables.

Carol

Thanks k9arlene. Any reason for the cable vote?

I have glass panels and I find them easier to clean than windows because they are more accessible and I don't have to worry about water/cleaner that drips to the deck. I only wash mine two or three times per year. I do clean off the bird droppings if birds have spent time sitting on the rail. I have no opinion as to the appropriateness with the style of your house. Mine are not tall enough to act as much of a windbreak.

I'd be concerned about birds flying into the glass, wouldn't want to clean the glass, especially since it's on the second story, wouldn't want to be so esposed to the neighborhood, and I think the cables are cool looking. The glass would kind of look blah.

Thanks Fun2BHere for sharing your experience with the glass panels. Are yours clear panels or one of the darker more opaque panels?

Thanks k9arlene for the explanation for your vote. I kinda of think I would be just as exposed to the neighbourhood with cables as glass. There is quite a bit of space before the house across the way as we are on a cul-de-sac (we will be very near the next door neighbour). It will feel more like a front porch vs a private deck out back.

What about old-school wood? I don't like it because it blocks views, but if that's not an issue for you, I'd do the traditional wood spindles. Or a low wall with planters spaced along it which might be nice if you want screening from the street. That is one thing to consider, you might want spindles or a more substantial railing or privacy from the street. No way do I want to add, "clean deck windows" to my to-do list. I want, "Sit out on deck enjoying a glass of wine" to my list instead.

Thanks pinnkmountain for your input. Yes wine wins vs cleaning here, too, LOL. Honestly, I am not all that fussed on needing perfectly clean windows. I would probably only clean them a few times a year at most. As long as they don't look terrible, it won't bother me. Screening from the street does not really concern me either. We can use our backyard for that.

We do have to be concerned with blocking the dormer windows above. The deck material needs to be very see-through or the dormers will be blocked, and I know from mock-ups that will impact the look of the house from the front. We have already bought the aluminum top rail, newel posts etc, so would not be able to do all wood at this time anyway.

Carol

I do think cables would suit the style of your house. If you have a great view and want it to be uninterrupted, then get glass. My brother has glass on his decks but they are always in need of cleaning. He does have a great view and needs a wind break, since his place is ocean front.

I have clear glass because I don't want to obstruct my view and I have no privacy concerns.

Thanks Fun and dedtired for your votes.

I just got a reply from the manufacturer that supplied the posts and top rail that we have already on site (not installed, but bought). He informed me that cable railings are not allowed in Canada (he has supplied them for his US customers). There is a concern in Canada that it is more climbable than glass. With our application being an upper deck/balcony, cables are a no go for us.

You guys were starting to sway my thinking towards cables, but it seems that is not an option for us as we are in Canada. I guess that is why we generally see glass around here. I can't say I have seen cables locally.

I hope the glass will look okay too, and not need constant cleaning. Sorry for asking for you to vote on one option that was not even allowed where we live. Thanks just the same.

Maybe some types of glass shows the dirt more than others? Wouldn't hurt to ask. A wavy pattern, for example, would add a level of privacy and also some visual interest. But if you want a clear view out the other windows through your deck, maybe not. Just a thought. I rarely wash my windows, has not ruined my view, home or life so far! :)

Thanks pinkmountain. It is less the clear view out the windows, although that would be nice. It is just that from street view, if the deck railings block the house behind it looks odd. I know this because when we were framing the house, we initially had a tall gable roof over the garage. It looked so bad, and obscured the house behind so much that we paid to rip it our and reframe with the flat roof. Tough lesson learned.

Carol

We live on a lake and have wood. I would prefer cables, as I like the look. In a perfect world I would have glass; however, I can't handle ANY more cleaning. I am overwhelmed by birds, lizards, and spiders do to the lake. I have so many windows that cleaning them is a heavy chore for me. I have to clean them at least once a month as the light from the house at night draws spiders to the windows.

How are you going to handle snow on your deck with glass panels? Are they solid panels or slats? Easier to blow then shovel off, right? Does your storm door up there open out onto the deck? That might cause a little problem in a blizzard with drifting snow if you don't tie it open or something. Otherwise, you'll have to climb onto that roof somehow to remove the snow. We've had problems with ice dams on a shallow pitched roof causing interior damage so I'm conscious of these things.

Think glass might be safer if you have teenagers hanging out- not so tempting to climb as cables might be. You could treat the glass with Rainex (or equivalent) to promote water sheeting off and keeping cleaner.

Putting some decorative stickers on the glass would help prevent bird deaths.

why birds hit glass and how to prevent it

The cable would look terrific. Could you do it vertically, kind of like this?

or, what about your horizontal cable mounted on the OUTSIDE of the glass? It would look great and keep the birds from flying into the glass. And you could hang holiday lights on them!

I have glass panels at our modern cottage in Quebec just north of Ottawa. They haven't been a big deal to keep clean, although clearly they are more maintenance than cables. I liked them for not obscuring the view and the wind break. We couldn't do cables either, I do like that look too though.

Thanks for all the input. It seems cables is the preferred choice, but I just found out earlier today is not an option at all in Canada. I understood the rule applies to horizontal and vertical installations of cable. I have never personally seen cable installed here, which is no surprise given building code against them in Canada where I live.

I appreciate your ideas regarding preventing birds from hitting the glass (they would likely also hit the cables). I will look into the suggestions you kindly provided. I assume most birds like to fly higher than this glass, but I guess we will find out. The bottom of the deck is only around 9 and a half feet off the ground.

I could do both cable and glass as suggested by bpathome, but that would definitely increase the cost. I also am not sure how easy it would be to even purchase cables in Canada given the code. We could definitely add it later, I assume, if other solutions for birds is not found.

I do like the glass look, and will definitely investigate if we can use Rainex in an outside application.

As per snow, I honestly don't think we will use the deck much, if at all during the snow season. The door does swing out, so if there is any amount of snow on the deck, the door won't open (I think the bottom of the door is a bit elevated so small amounts of snow might work). We do like to use the area for Christmas decorations, so occasionally we might clear the snow for that. That would be a great chore for the teenage sons.

Carol

Glad you like your glass panels, Sochi and find they offer somewhat of a wind break in our climate. We are closer to Toronto, so a bit milder than you. Yes, it seems that we Canadians are more daredevil than our US friends, and they had to put a code against the cable railings to control our random balcony climbing.

Carol

I love Rainex or Aquapel on my windshield! I never thought of putting it on windows.

So, if you can use Rainex or equivalent on a car, than it seems they are fine for other outside applications. Good to know, bpathome.

Sochi, have birds flying into your glass panels been a big issue? I am sure you get way more birds at the cottage than we would in our suburban location. Did you go for the clear panels, or a more smokey grey glass?

Carol

We have alot of glass windows on our house in the back and we have quite a few birds flying into them each year.

We were considering glass for our deck as well, but considering the problem we have, I think the birds would not see the glass and think they're flying threw the deck, or see their reflection and attack.

I've lived with glass panels for 13 years and have yet to see a bird fly into one. I've only known of one bird strike to one of my windows. Maybe the key is to not keep the glass shinily clean, you think? :-D

Thanks design. Do you live in the country, city or suburb property? Maybe that makes some difference in terms of the quantity of birds. Maybe we get fewer in Canada due to our climate? We very rarely get a bird flying into windows. When we do, I do see them fly off afterwards (no fatalities).

Good point Fun. Another benefit to my habit of being a slacker with cleaning. LOL.

This solution is for the birds:

LOL bpathome.

We are in a subdivision, but do have woods behind us.

And we have bird feeders....so there's that. My daughter says we've become crazy old bird watching people before our time.

Thanks designsaavy. Humourous daughter.

Carol

deisign- I know - my daughters think the same of us (although I guess we are old.)

ontario - We have had glass panels for our deck for 9 years. We used to have our feeders attached to the railing and sometimes a bird would get confused and be on the deck floor side of the glass and injure themselves by repeatably flying into the glass to get out. Several years ago we moved our feeders off the railings more into the yard and that really solved the problem.

We live in the woods with lots of pine trees. We also have a lot of windows in our house that overlook our deck, and still get the occasional bird flying into the (house) glass-usually on cloudy days. But I really love our glass panels. DH cleans them well once or twice a year. And we do have snow that he "needs" to shovel off the deck if it gets over 6 inches or so (we live in eastern WA.)

In this pic the grosbeaks were really enjoying the water on the railing. You can see the (somewhat) dirty glass panels and the feeders in the background.

design, I love your woods!

We have bird feeders in a tree near our living room windows, and get birds hitting the windows often (sometimes I'll hear several in a day). Sometimes we do get fatalities. And trust me, my windows are NOT squeaky clean!

I should get some vinyl stickers for the windows...

Our feeders are about 30 ft. from the windows. I'm thinking they most likely see their reflection thinking its another bird. When the shades are down, it doesn't happen because it doesn't look clear. Perhaps if the glass had etching on it it may not happen.

I love the cable look. Too bad you're unable to do that. Big brother at work!

This is glass and stainless steel SS316. We installed it 2 years ago. We have never washed it. Sorry for the dark photo, taken on a dreary day. Ps. We live in Iceland and get all kinds of weather. Here we can get wind up to 100 knots. Yesterday it got to 60 knots. It is double glazed safety glass. The lower part of the house was painted last year so the streeks are gone from the garage wall.

Ice,

Thanks for sharing the photo and for your experience (glad it is not a cleaning chore). The glass railing looks great on your house. It looks like your glass is frosted? Is this correct? I think we need to stick with clear glass, due to concerns around blocking our house behind.

Yes it is. We did that so when sitting on the balcony we would not be seen. We have sea views and can still se that sitting in the living room.

Ontariomom, I wonder with the set up that Ice has if that still might work for you because the panels are not solid up to the railing. I think the opening above the frosted glass makes it much less a barrier than frosted glass all the way up. I don't think it would appear to block the house like other, more solid choices would. And it would give you a bit of privacy on that deck, plus solve the cleaning issues.

You could explore the code for how much space above the glass to the railing you could have.

I took one from the inside so you could see it up close.

Thanks Olychick. Well I do like the frosted glass for Ice's application, I definitely want transparent for our application. Trust me, we don't want to block the rest of our house with the railing. We have mocked that up before, and it is a no go for sure. Beyond that, we tore down a newly built garage roof because it blocked the house behind --- not wanting to do that again.

Carol

Lucky guy to have that view.

Carol