What is your house style? I think it should match.

I also would not not want to scrimp on this. That looks high and creates liability. Good luck

I'm not trying to skimp... Intex railing has a 10' option for their PVC.. just wondering if there was anything else out there? Or do I just make intermediate posts?

Have you asked your builder what the $6,000 "allowance" is sufficient to build? How about a standard treated wood railing with 2-inch by 2-inch vertical balusters? Be sure to check your local building code for required dimensions and clearances. And yes, a ten-foot span, between columns, with no intermediate post, is a bit far.

I have not.. but the house is on the water so our options are somewhat limited and standard wood railing would not be a good idea I don't think. I will discuss it with him but I know how that conversation will go... There have been a number of things that were over the top expensive as compared for what we had as allowances. All of them I was able to find much better prices and found different options. Was looking to do the same in this case. While he is a "custom builder" he builds within his comfort zone (i.e. using only aluminum railing) and rarely explored other options.

On the water, I would want glass panels. No railing will span 10'. Not sure why your architect designed it that way? Or was this designed by an architect? Or anyone with engineering input? 10' apart seems ambitious for the double decking support as well. Unless that was planned as steel or concrete. Did that actually pass inspection for high wind construction?

Is there an above average view to be had from the deck(s)?

If it's any help, I probably know a guy that will build your $6,000 allowance railing for $11.4k . . .

code for a wood rail is 6' panel max. You might be able to get farther with a metal rail, but 1) it'll likely require an engineer's stamp and 2) if you're in a county like mine, part of the inspection includes the inspector throwing a hip into the center of the railing to make sure he's happy with the amount of deflection.

For the views, I'd look at a cable rail system, but you're not doing 10' between the posts with cable.

In many jurisdictions, cable railing systems are no longer allowed by the building code. Balusters must be vertical and there's a maximum spacing (a 4-inch ball may not pass between the balusters, etc). Your builder should know the local code.

We used Trex railings on our deck and they look great but I don't think they make 10 ft long sections. Ours our 6 foot and I think they also have 8 foot sections.

Here's our powder coated aluminum with cables. Dh wanted the cables. I wanted something my young grandchildren couldn't climb over easily.

havent decided if we will use the same thing on the house.

A question here. What water are you looking at? Humidity and salt are potentially huge issues - but are they here?

Also jurisdictional issues are large. We are in a state that usually requires vertical balisters but our locality allowed horizontal cable rails. We only did these on the lower deck which was at most 8 feet into sand. The upper deck was 14 feet above so that got vertical wood balusters.

In some areas, wood is very standard and $6k is plenty. So we don't have enough info to be mad at your builder for your allowance.

I am going to guess this is not anywhere on the SE coast since that upper deck has no real support for wind. I know for sure that it isn't NC or FL (or presumably anywhere in between). I am curious where the view is, the water is aggressive but wind is not.

This is in Gulfbreeze, FL on the soundside...so yes humidity and salt. So there is a barrier island between us and the Gulf. Everything went to engineering and I assumed that everyone did their jobs and checked code, engineered it, etc. The railing has not changed since we started this project more than a year ago and they have always been powdercoated aluminum railing. It's been possibly the ONLY thing that has not changed so I'm not sure how we went from $6000 to $12000.

And since you brought it up... how did this upper deck pass anything if that is the case? We had to change some windows due to egress requirements so how would they miss this? Where can I read about code for something like this?

This guy won't go over six feet between posts. He seems to know what he's talking about.

Requirements for guards and handrails can be found in your state's Building Code in the Egress chapter in the "Guard" or "Handrail" sections.

Great wisdom can be found in Joseph's last comment.

Very happy with custom powder coated aluminum railing for 10'+ spans. When sitting, we don't feel that the view is obstructed at all (small diameter, light gray color, horizontal "opening" at eye level). Price was built into contract, not an allowance, so I can't speak to that. IPE decking.

So I guess what I'm wondering is how do I know that the top deck won't just simply blow off and 10 mile an hour winds? What ensures that it is built to some standard?

And then my next question about the railing is there a way to fix it? If I put intermediate posts in so the span is 5ft will that solve the problem? Would it look strange?

Who did the engineering plan for this house? Start there. If it wasn't run past a structural engineer, then how did it get permitted?

It was the builders engineer...price is in the co tract for engineering.so I assume it was done.. I'll ask more about it when I meet today but fully expect a "it's fine" response

From the picture, it appears to be standard framing with standard sizing and spacing and standard joist hangers. As long as the ledger is properly attached to the house AND FLASHED PROPERLY, all should be well even in a hurricane.

It sounds like you don't have a lot of confidence in your general contractor. You should be discussing these options and things you want to do with the railings with them, they will know the most about permits, change orders, sub-contractors, engineering, etc. I don't suggest you try to fix things yourself or install support beams yourself.

Here is what little I know about codes. That deck doesn't fit in NC but we are ocean and the concern is wave action. FL is generally much stricter but the usual place I hear about is Miami Dade. Gulf side is much different. And then you have a barrier island in front of you.

We build upper deck on full pilings (12 inch?). The same ones that the house is on which look a little bigger than yours. My concern (what do I know) is the upper deck is currently held up by something like 2x4's. There has to be something more coming right?

The best house is a hurricane is a smooth sphere. Don't want anything to catch wind. I would be concerned (again ocean front) that the wind would rip the deck off and act as missiles to the house. That is a concern with any deck of course - but you would want it to be as strong as possible.

Code is incredibly regional and I would hope you have confidence in your engineers.

You want hurricane proof? This is what your house is gonna look like: