I think it looks nice, but if you have small children or pets even 20" could be a problem.

There’s a nice view looking out the front and a couple of porch swings without the railing would really open things up. As you can tell I’m leaning towards removal ;) Thanks for the input!

I understand how aggravating it is to sit in a comfortable chair, enjoy a cup of coffee, know there's a great view out there...and stare straight at handrail and ballusters.

Diana Bier makes a good point about a 20" fall. The plants can provide a visual cue of the fall off, although IMO your shrubs on the left are too tall and emphasize the slope of the front yard. It looks like the drop off may be greater on the far right end, consider keeping the rail perpendicular to the door.

If I were you, I'd probably go for it.

I broke my ankle off a 14” no railing deck so I would keep the railing it suits the house and adding some nice foundation plantings instead of those boring shrubs will make the space more inviting .

What does your insurance company say about removing a porch railing? The reason I ask is when we moved to our house almost 6 years ago, the previous owners did not have a railing for our front porch and our insurance company requires it. My hubby had to put one up within a month of moving in or we would lose our insurance company!

Find out what your building codes are- many places require railings and have rules about when/how they are implemented. And yep, insurance company too.

Not exactly sure of the porch to grade distance but if it is 30" or more building code requires a railing. It looks like you are getting close to that on the far right side and where the porch turns the corner.

It’s 30” maximum height for code then a railing is required. I have a measurement of 29” at the highest spot but I’d plan on putting stairs there because it’s where we access our firewood during the winter and instead of hopping the railing to load up the wood having a quick access point would be nice! What I think I’m going to do is take the railings off and see how it looks then put them back if it doesn’t quite look right. I just can’t fully picture it w/o. Guess I need to work on my imagination!

Cool! I like your solution for the far end. Also, if you don’t like the results, you can reinstall the railing. I hope you post photos afterward, it would be interesting to see what you ultimately decided considering all the factors and may help others later on.

Take the railing off. It will open things up nicely!

Here is a crude mock-up to visualize no railing. But I would be concerned about someone stepping off the porch.

You could do a more open railing like this:

Modern Bungalow · More Info

Thanks for the mock up houssaon! I’m not too concerned with someone stepping off as there are solutions to make sure people see the edge (ie. Plants in pots or beds). I’ll make sure to update soon with photos. Probably looking at early spring. It’s all trial and error!

We had a similar house and came time where the railings needed painting. We decided to remove them instead of painting them and it looked wonderful. I would recommend removing.

My grandfather tipped backwards over something like that. It had no railing. He broke his neck. Life support had to be withdrawn.

Your railing might save a life...

It’s not removing a railing from a roof top patio...it’s a front porch...

@John M If your response was to me...Yes, my grandfather tipped off the porch that was on the ground floor of the house (same height as yours), and it was fatal. He was sitting and leaned back.

The railing is there fir a reason. It’s all too easy to lose your balance, step backwards, lose focus, etc. Any of those could lead to a serious accident. It’s not worth the view, or the “opening up”.

I was trying to avoid the safety patrol by posting in the opening statement about the project that “safety is no concern.” Guess there’s difficulty reading and understanding amongst the people that frequent this site.

Safety certainly is an issue that has to be considered. However, few people are content to live without taking some measure of risk, otherwise, homes wouldn’t have stairs or swimming pools or upper decks or dogs.

Code is 30”, a minimum figure arrived at by experts in the interest of safety. Good people have weighed in with their personal experience and advice, the OP has indicated he’s comfortable with the risk and has ideas to mitigate it.

If we can respect different views about the safety matter and focus on his original question, I’m still interested in hearing what others think about the aesthetics of removing the railing.

It would definitely look more open if the railing were removed. I have a deck with a railing at my vacation home, and wish I could remove it--it reminds me of a playpen! But it's way too high up, so it stays.

It's really the homeowner's choice as to whether to keep or remove it, if it's within the local code.

Removing the hedge would be my first priority. Even with the railing gone, the hedge will block the view. AND it requires lots of maintenance to keep it in check. Here's a more open railing style I like. Steps at the high end of the porch would be a nice addition to access the woodpile too.

Exteriors · More Info

Took off the railings facing the front of the house. Still have to remove the side railings where the stairs will be built. Going to live with it for a couple weeks and see, but I think it’s going to work especially when a retaining wall is built on the right end of the house to bring the bed level with the left side. Will update more photos when the weather gets warmer 😉

It has opened it up nicely! What do you think of the difference sitting in the porch and looking out?

Thanks! It was kind of a relief that my wife and I liked it. I was completely ready to step back and if it didn’t look right, then put the railing back on. There’s a rotted pillar so I’ll be taking care of that but also thinking of spacing them so the one doesn’t block the bay window. Sitting on the porch felt exciting that in the summer we’ll have a nice open porch to look out from!

If I had the option of no porch railing I would definitely go that route. There’s just something so classic about it. IMHO.

Still a work in progress but front railings removed and I think it was a great choice!

It’s beautiful! 😍

Oh my, you’ve been busy! You made so many great decisions in addition to removing the railing - from top to bottom everything ties together to make your home look fresh and welcoming. Thanks for the update!

Thank you JT! It feels much better walking out and back up to it everyday. The retaining wall leveled everything from left to right and some different plants along the base with a maple planted in front makes it feel more our style 🙂🤙

You've been busy! The choice to remove the railing was definitely the right one. It looks fantastic and much more open. Well done!

Looks great--the retaining wall makes all the difference!

Looks good!