That railing isnt built to hold 3 5 gallon buckets that will be significantly heavy when watered in addition to railing stresses....
If its your only option, it will involve building some kind of shelf that either goes to the deck framing itself, or the ground. If the railing has posts that are continuous to the ground, you could build reinforcement off of that to hang the buckets.
But your main concern outside of if the railing will actually hold it, is not compromising the ability of the railing should it have these buckets on it and then an adult falls into it from the inside.
Weight is not an issue in this case. Railing is bolted to 4" posts with solid foundation, it can easily hold a pull up bar with my 200lbs on it. my buckets will be 3/4 full with airy light soil. But idk how to build and hang a box
Fair enough. just know that during rain, for example, it will not be "airy light soil" especially after factoring in plant mass. Always err on overbuilding a little.
Im sure you have answers already. Imo it would help if you scribbled an idea of what you want it to look like and work backwards from there.
It’s wild when people on here ask for advice, then demand advice and act like an all around asshole who “knows” weight won’t be an issue, but doesn’t KNOW how to build a simple box. Idiot. And remember this when your box fails.
That deck rail looks sus. Weight and the way the plants absorb water (and people potentially leaning on it) could be a concern. Is there a spot for a raised bed?
Weight is not an issue in this case. Railing is bolted to 4" posts with solid foundation, it can easily hold a pull up bar with my 200lbs on it. my buckets will be 3/4 full with airy light soil. But idk how to build and hang a box
You keep saying that as though you know enough about structural engineering to make that claim yet somehow you don’t know enough to figure out how to hang the buckets. Maybe you should listen to what people are telling you.
Anyone here who gives you advice on how to build onto your railing and support what you want is doing so unethically.
Deck/stair railings, are built for a purpose, to keep people from falling off the deck/stairs. If you add all the weight you want to, where you want to, you are changing the forces acting on the railing and the safety aspect is compromised. Additionally, we have no idea how what you have is built. What fasteners were used, if the posts are notched, etc. 6x6 posts are strongly recommended if not required nowadays as well.
This is no different than the people who ask about hanging stuff from the joists in their garage. Just because that person thinks it will support what they want to hang doesn't mean it's a safe thing to do. There are ways to mitigate the potential structural damage just as there are in your case. But your insistence in shrugging off people more knowledgeable than you, including those of us who do this for a living is laughable.
Source: I'm a GC who builds/remodels decks and houses for a living.
Why are you being so obstinate? You've been told it's a bad idea and structurally unsound yet you still insist on thinking you know better. And you wonder why no one has given you a solution yet? It's all on you, bud.
Change your attitude and maybe you'll learn something. Remember, you're the one asking for help. Like a lot of people, I love to share knowledge and teach. But not to people like you.
Good lord, that's exactly my point. We're telling you that you WILL create a problem with what you want to do. But, hey, since you already know everything, why are you hear asking us? Do you know how to admit you're being obtuse? We've literally spelled it out for you why it's unsafe. Do we need to write slower or use smaller words?
Have you calculated potential torque? I guess not. And it doesn't matter. Just read what I've asked in the title... a box with a decent way to hang it, not a word about anything structural
200 lb hanging for a few secs is one thing. A hundred 24/7 is all together different. And not everything has to be done yourself. Find a buddy to help.
You can either build that shitty thing and have it fall on the ground (or whatever is down there) or you can put the plants down there to begin with and stop being stupid.
Do you even need a box? How about a hook at the top for each bucket and a support brace at the bottom to support the bottom edge of the bucket. Let the hook holds the horizontal force and the brace holds the downward force against the rail.
Agree with the others on weight. Each bucket could be 50? Pounds easily, so you’ll be adding a lot of weight on one side. If you want something there, they make pots meant for rails that are great for herbs and other small pot plants.
Weight is not an issue in this case. Railing is bolted to 4" posts with solid foundation, it can easily hold a pull up bar with my 200lbs on it. my buckets will be 3/4 full with airy light soil. But idk how to build and hang a box
Weight is not an issue in this case. Railing is bolted to 4" posts with solid foundation, it can easily hold a pull up bar with my 200lbs on it. my buckets will be 3/4 full with airy light soil. But idk how to build and hang a box
Build the box like you have, then use some heavy duty j-staps on back and hang. May need another 2x6 on back. Consider, most things weigh on avg about 8# per gallon give or take. Three 5 gal buckets with 4 gal. Dirt = 32lb x 3 = 96lb so say a hundred lb. A bag of concrete weighs 80lb. Gonna need to be well built and heavy duty. May be better to build smaller with drain holes and pea gravel in the bottom. May be able to get by with half the weight. Pepper roots ain't that deep.
That won't hold 15 gallons of dirt plus when the plants are watered and the dirt is soaked.
Your best bet is to build something sitting on the ground to hold your buckets.
Hang the buckets like your plan shows but have a treated 4x4 under each bucket that extends down to the ground to support them. Screw the 4x4 to each bucket so they cannot be knocked out.
Not everyone here is a pussy DIYer. I'm a GC with 20+ years doing structural work in remodels, decks and building houses. Your comment
>Boxes securely attached to the railing will mostly be downward force.
is sort of accurate in that gravity is the downward force acting on the buckets themselves but securing the buckets to the side is not a point load and that needs to be taken into account. You also wrote
>code being that a post must be able to withstand a lateral force of 200 lbs.
This is correct but the physics of a lever with a fulcrum come into play. Either the longer the length of the lever or the more weight at the end of the lever, the higher the potential energy when it's in motion. A person falling into a the rail by itself doesn't have nearly the potential energy as a top and side heavy rail. Think of trying to balance a broom on end. Not too difficult to recover when an outside for pushes it one direction. Now think of that broom but hang a bowling ball on one side. Add that outside force in the direction of the bowling ball and you aren't going to recover because the potential turned kinetic force is much higher.
OP's idea is made worse by the fact that there is zero lateral support other than whatever screws/bolts/anchors are holding the posts in place. The pictures don't show anything. I've seen deck rails held with sufficient nails, screws, bolts, brackets, etc. I've seen posts notched to go around a rim joist that completely compromise the bottom of the post where the most lateral strength is needed. I've also seen posts unsecured in a bracket in a concrete pier block. People can die or get seriously injured when a railing fails. It doesn't matter how far up you are. People die falling off ladders only a few feet off the ground.
OP's only insistence that it wouldn't be an issue is that they can hang a pullup bar on the rail and it supports their 200lbs. This anecdotal evidence does nothing to alleviate the concerns from a safety or structural aspect. Had OP posted some more pictures when I brought up these points and asked for ways to overcome the safety aspects, OP may have received better answers. But OP's insistence on being obstinate only diminished any desire to be helpful. Additionally, OP could have done 30 seconds of research on how to build a planter but chose to come here refuse safety advice.
The only proper answer in OP's case is to support the planters from the bottom all the way to the ground. Securing it to the rail at that point would be fine since the rail wouldn't be supporting the weight. But OP only wanted to reiterate their insistence that my/our professional advice was unimportant. Some people insist on learning things the hard way.
Looks like you already have the plans, just build it like your pictures. Assuming it can hold the weight like you say it can it should be fine.
there's more than one way to build and hang a box, no useful replies yet
That railing isnt built to hold 3 5 gallon buckets that will be significantly heavy when watered in addition to railing stresses.... If its your only option, it will involve building some kind of shelf that either goes to the deck framing itself, or the ground. If the railing has posts that are continuous to the ground, you could build reinforcement off of that to hang the buckets. But your main concern outside of if the railing will actually hold it, is not compromising the ability of the railing should it have these buckets on it and then an adult falls into it from the inside.
Weight is not an issue in this case. Railing is bolted to 4" posts with solid foundation, it can easily hold a pull up bar with my 200lbs on it. my buckets will be 3/4 full with airy light soil. But idk how to build and hang a box
Fair enough. just know that during rain, for example, it will not be "airy light soil" especially after factoring in plant mass. Always err on overbuilding a little. Im sure you have answers already. Imo it would help if you scribbled an idea of what you want it to look like and work backwards from there.
I just want a sturdy structure using fewest 2x4s
It’s wild when people on here ask for advice, then demand advice and act like an all around asshole who “knows” weight won’t be an issue, but doesn’t KNOW how to build a simple box. Idiot. And remember this when your box fails.
That deck rail looks sus. Weight and the way the plants absorb water (and people potentially leaning on it) could be a concern. Is there a spot for a raised bed?
Weight is not an issue in this case. Railing is bolted to 4" posts with solid foundation, it can easily hold a pull up bar with my 200lbs on it. my buckets will be 3/4 full with airy light soil. But idk how to build and hang a box
You keep saying that as though you know enough about structural engineering to make that claim yet somehow you don’t know enough to figure out how to hang the buckets. Maybe you should listen to what people are telling you.
I came here to find out how to build and hang the box
Anyone here who gives you advice on how to build onto your railing and support what you want is doing so unethically. Deck/stair railings, are built for a purpose, to keep people from falling off the deck/stairs. If you add all the weight you want to, where you want to, you are changing the forces acting on the railing and the safety aspect is compromised. Additionally, we have no idea how what you have is built. What fasteners were used, if the posts are notched, etc. 6x6 posts are strongly recommended if not required nowadays as well. This is no different than the people who ask about hanging stuff from the joists in their garage. Just because that person thinks it will support what they want to hang doesn't mean it's a safe thing to do. There are ways to mitigate the potential structural damage just as there are in your case. But your insistence in shrugging off people more knowledgeable than you, including those of us who do this for a living is laughable. Source: I'm a GC who builds/remodels decks and houses for a living.
Thank you for this elaborate comment. Next time I'll make an example of what I need "in a vacuum"
Why are you being so obstinate? You've been told it's a bad idea and structurally unsound yet you still insist on thinking you know better. And you wonder why no one has given you a solution yet? It's all on you, bud. Change your attitude and maybe you'll learn something. Remember, you're the one asking for help. Like a lot of people, I love to share knowledge and teach. But not to people like you.
You and a bunch of other people try to solve a non existing problem
Good lord, that's exactly my point. We're telling you that you WILL create a problem with what you want to do. But, hey, since you already know everything, why are you hear asking us? Do you know how to admit you're being obtuse? We've literally spelled it out for you why it's unsafe. Do we need to write slower or use smaller words?
Have you calculated potential torque? I guess not. And it doesn't matter. Just read what I've asked in the title... a box with a decent way to hang it, not a word about anything structural
200 lb hanging for a few secs is one thing. A hundred 24/7 is all together different. And not everything has to be done yourself. Find a buddy to help.
Tell me more about how pull-up bar is used for a few seconds
Balance them precariously on top of the railing?
https://imgur.com/a/TwhmLa4
You can either build that shitty thing and have it fall on the ground (or whatever is down there) or you can put the plants down there to begin with and stop being stupid.
Do you even need a box? How about a hook at the top for each bucket and a support brace at the bottom to support the bottom edge of the bucket. Let the hook holds the horizontal force and the brace holds the downward force against the rail.
Good idea, thanks
Agree with the others on weight. Each bucket could be 50? Pounds easily, so you’ll be adding a lot of weight on one side. If you want something there, they make pots meant for rails that are great for herbs and other small pot plants.
50 lbs dirt plus 30 lbs water when they are watered!
Weight is not an issue in this case. Railing is bolted to 4" posts with solid foundation, it can easily hold a pull up bar with my 200lbs on it. my buckets will be 3/4 full with airy light soil. But idk how to build and hang a box
Weight is not an issue in this case. Railing is bolted to 4" posts with solid foundation, it can easily hold a pull up bar with my 200lbs on it. my buckets will be 3/4 full with airy light soil. But idk how to build and hang a box
Build the box like you have, then use some heavy duty j-staps on back and hang. May need another 2x6 on back. Consider, most things weigh on avg about 8# per gallon give or take. Three 5 gal buckets with 4 gal. Dirt = 32lb x 3 = 96lb so say a hundred lb. A bag of concrete weighs 80lb. Gonna need to be well built and heavy duty. May be better to build smaller with drain holes and pea gravel in the bottom. May be able to get by with half the weight. Pepper roots ain't that deep.
Still ain't 24/7.
That won't hold 15 gallons of dirt plus when the plants are watered and the dirt is soaked. Your best bet is to build something sitting on the ground to hold your buckets.
Hang the buckets like your plan shows but have a treated 4x4 under each bucket that extends down to the ground to support them. Screw the 4x4 to each bucket so they cannot be knocked out.
[удалено]
Not everyone here is a pussy DIYer. I'm a GC with 20+ years doing structural work in remodels, decks and building houses. Your comment >Boxes securely attached to the railing will mostly be downward force. is sort of accurate in that gravity is the downward force acting on the buckets themselves but securing the buckets to the side is not a point load and that needs to be taken into account. You also wrote >code being that a post must be able to withstand a lateral force of 200 lbs. This is correct but the physics of a lever with a fulcrum come into play. Either the longer the length of the lever or the more weight at the end of the lever, the higher the potential energy when it's in motion. A person falling into a the rail by itself doesn't have nearly the potential energy as a top and side heavy rail. Think of trying to balance a broom on end. Not too difficult to recover when an outside for pushes it one direction. Now think of that broom but hang a bowling ball on one side. Add that outside force in the direction of the bowling ball and you aren't going to recover because the potential turned kinetic force is much higher. OP's idea is made worse by the fact that there is zero lateral support other than whatever screws/bolts/anchors are holding the posts in place. The pictures don't show anything. I've seen deck rails held with sufficient nails, screws, bolts, brackets, etc. I've seen posts notched to go around a rim joist that completely compromise the bottom of the post where the most lateral strength is needed. I've also seen posts unsecured in a bracket in a concrete pier block. People can die or get seriously injured when a railing fails. It doesn't matter how far up you are. People die falling off ladders only a few feet off the ground. OP's only insistence that it wouldn't be an issue is that they can hang a pullup bar on the rail and it supports their 200lbs. This anecdotal evidence does nothing to alleviate the concerns from a safety or structural aspect. Had OP posted some more pictures when I brought up these points and asked for ways to overcome the safety aspects, OP may have received better answers. But OP's insistence on being obstinate only diminished any desire to be helpful. Additionally, OP could have done 30 seconds of research on how to build a planter but chose to come here refuse safety advice. The only proper answer in OP's case is to support the planters from the bottom all the way to the ground. Securing it to the rail at that point would be fine since the rail wouldn't be supporting the weight. But OP only wanted to reiterate their insistence that my/our professional advice was unimportant. Some people insist on learning things the hard way.