Renovation expertise: Railings

Old buildings expert Marianne Suhr offers her advice on installing iron railings around a period property. Plus advice on how to make reclaimed metal railings safe for re-use.

Renovation expertise: Rules about railings

• If your house is listed, you will only need listed building consent if you intend to fix the railings/fence to the house itself, provided you are not changing anything that is already there.

• You may, however, need planning permission to erect any sort of boundary structure. Make sure you make enquiries with your local authority and have the necessary consents in place before embarking on any works.

• If your site is not level, then this needs to be borne in mind when designing the railings. The panels can be either stepped (set at different levels), or raked (sloped) to follow the ground.

• Always consider how you will maintain your garden once the railings are up. You won’t be able to mow right up to the bottom, so consider making a flowerbed along the base, or a gravel-filled trench that will help drain rainwater away.

• Carefully research the finish for your railings. A painted finish will rust through within a couple of years, as modern steel rusts much quicker than traditional wrought iron. For an authentic looking painted finish, try coating the railings with a zinc spray first, followed by a good quality paint. For a maintenance free finish, powder-coating is ideal. Avoid standard black, as it can look rather municipal; try a traditional muted colour instead – green, dark blue, dark red and chocolate brown were all popular in Victorian times, according to the Victorian Society.

How to fix metal railings

Heavy metal railings require substantial fixing to make them safe and structurally sound.

• Firstly, a series of holes are dug and concrete pads are poured. These need at least a couple of weeks to ‘cure’ before they are strong enough to drill into.

• The posts for the railings need to be fitted with a plate at the base with holes in to allow fixing to the concrete pad.

• It’s a good idea to set the posts 100mm below the level of the ground, so they can be covered over.

• It may be worth using a dab or two of superglue on the bolts holding the railings in place; this should deter any thieves from stealing them.

• Keep back some of the paint to touch up the fixings after they’ve been installed and also to fill in any scratches or small chips that occur over time.

Read all about Marianne's salvaged iron railing fence...
Find out how to maintain and repair iron railings...

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS MARIANNE SUHR
Featured in the October 2011 issue of Period Living