jenrolex1203 ♉♊♍♋♊

Sigrid My house has Union Jack railings. They're original, so they have more heft than the ones on the house across the street with a porch railing rebuilt with standard sized lumber.

I'd be interested to know if they were really inspired by Union Jacks, given that I can't recall seeing railings like this on houses in England, which, admittedly, aren't known for their porches.

lazidazi RE Photo 1 [by ESD Homes]: I don't understand the construction technique of setting the balustrade bottom rail on the floor of the porch. I realize it's a screened porch, but I would put the bottom rail off floor level to better allow blowing and washing the floor, giving an outlet for doing same, even at risk of the few bugs who would find their way thru that space.

Gina Fitzsimmons ASID Sometimes a simplified version of a railing works even better! The railing that I designed on the balcony overlooking Spa Creek has two "x" sections placed symmetrically in this run. The posts have been made 6 x 6 and the corner post 8x8. The open space just under the hand rail is a plus when considering the view!

Gina Fitzsimmons ASID, Annapolis, Md.

Alan Brookman You'll have to be careful: Current code in the US requires that a 4" sphere cannot pass through a required guardrail, and the typical design (e.g. the third photo) will not meet this. The last photo shows a compliant design.

Becky Harris I have seen this design many times, and I love Union Jacks, but I never put the one and one together! Thanks!

peppermintpanda They all look more like asterisks or even cobwebs than the Union Flag to me (it's only called a Union Jack when flown at sea). I can't decide if I like them or not. I almost start looking down at the bottom of the pictures to find what the asterisks are referencing* . And Sigrid is right - very few houses in the UK have porches like these.

*like this!