Everything You Need For A Complete Fortress FE26 Steel Deck Railing
A strong, classic Fortress steel railing can totally refresh any deck. But how do you know all the parts and pieces you need for a completely safe and code-compliant railing?
That's why DecksDirect is here - to make it easier for you to build a better deck. We plan thousands of deck projects every year, and on this page, we'll run through a complete checklist of all the parts and pieces you need for a complete Fortress FE26 Steel Railing - the strongest deck railing on the market.
Find a full checklist below, plus supplementary checklists for unique features like non-standard angles, drink rails, handrails, or gates. For even more personalized planning help, give us a call at 1-888-824-5316.
Fortress FE26 Shopping Checklist
Everything you need for standard level railings, stair railings, and traditional 90-degree corners.
- Step 1: Posts & Post Caps (learn more)
- (max spacing between posts: 10 feet on-center for level sections, 8 feet on-center for stairs)
- Surface mount post or fascia mount post
- Fascia mount brackets (only required if you're using fascia mount posts)
- Post Caps: Dome, Flat Pyramid or lighted
- Post mounting screws
- Step 2: Rail Panels (learn more)
- Prefabricated Level Panels
- Prefabricated Adjustable Stair Panels
- Brackets (brackets typically come with posts for level sections, but you'll need separate brackets for stairs, fascia mounting, and some other cases)
- Optional: Colonial Accent Top Rail or Accent Top Rail Panel
- Step 3: Specialized Installation Tools (learn more)
- Color-matching Touch-up Paint: Spray Paint or Touch-Up Paint Pen (recommended)
More Planning Help
Some unique deck features might require additional parts. Follow the links for a supplemental checklist of items to add for your unique feature.
- What Do I Need For Angled Railing Connections?
- Can I Cut One Rail Kit Into Two Short Sections?
- What Do I Need For A Deck Board Drink Rail?
- Can I Use Existing Wood Posts?
- What Do I Need For A Safety Handrail?
- What Do I Need For A Coordinating Gate?
- Free Planning Help
Planning Your Deck Project
The first step in planning out your deck railing is to measure your deck space. It's helpful to draw out your deck's layout, measuring and labeling the lengths of each outside edge.
- Draw the layout of your deck
- Measure the lengths of each edge and label them
- Plan where your posts will go - the strength of steel means Fortress FE26 can span up to 10 feet on level sections from the center of one post to the center of the next post. On stairs, you can span 8 feet between posts
- Fill in between the posts with pre-assembled rail panels
Then count up the various types of posts and the various lengths of rail kits you'll need. Your shopping list will consist of:
- Posts and post trim
- Rail Panels
- Installation accessories
Plus any other special additions you choose, like built-in lighting, gates, or decorative additions.
As always, we staff a team of experienced deck project planners to help you plan for all of your deck's unique features. Give us a call at 1-888-824-5316 for totally personalized project planning!
Step 1: Posts & Post Caps
- Surface mount post or fascia mount post
- Fascia mount brackets (only required if you're using fascia mount posts)
- Post Caps: Dome, Flat Pyramid or lighted
- Post mounting screws
To start, choose between two different Fortress post styles based on how you want to mount them to your deck.
Surface mount posts attach directly to the surface of your deck. They come with a pre-welded base plate to mount to your deck surface, and post kits also include a two-piece post base cover, sometimes called a post skirt.
You can also choose fascia mount posts. These mount to the outside edge of your deck to maximize your deck space. To fascia mount your deck posts, you'll need the specialized fascia mount post , plus a fascia mount bracket , which you can see at the base of the post below.
Then choose one of three post cap options to complete the look. You can keep things basic with a hammered dome cap, add a little flair with wider flat-top caps, or light up your space with lighted pyramid post caps:
Pressed Dome Post Cap for Fortress FE26 Steel Railing
Flat Pyramid Post Cap for Fortress FE26 Steel Railing
Flat Pyramid Low Voltage LED Post Cap Light Kit by FortressAccents™
To mount your post to your deck frame, use a 4-inch or longer structural screw, like these Pheinox RSS Rugged stainless steel screws from GRK Fasteners. They're compatible with wood, pressure-treated, composite and PVC decking.
You'll need at least 4 inches of blocking attached to your deck frame under each post to ensure a sturdy connection.
Step 2: Rail Panels
- Surface mount post or Fascia mount post
- Prefabricated Level Panels
- Prefabricated Adjustable Stair Panels
- Brackets (brackets typically come with posts for level sections, but you'll need separate brackets for stairs, fascia mounting, and some other cases)
- Optional: Colonial Accent Top Rail or Accent Top Rail Panel
Fortress makes things as easy as possible, producing pre-welded panels with the top and bottom rail already attached to the metal balusters. For stair sections, the balusters are welded to hinges so you can adjust the rail panel to fit the unique angle of your stairs.
Shop FE26 PanelsDo I Need To Buy Brackets Or Do They Come With Posts?
For simple level railing sections, you can actually buy posts with the brackets pre-installed. How easy is that!
You can find pre-bracketed posts for both straight-line connections and for 90-degree corners.
For angled stair railings, you'll want to buy "blank" posts - that's what we call posts without the brackets attached yet. Then you can add a set of simplified stair brackets to attach panels to posts at the exact angle you need.
Optional Flair: Colonial Top Rail or Accent Top Panel
You can add a little extra flair to your Fortress FE26 railing with an accent piece for the top of each panel.
The Colonial Top Rail is a simple cap that attaches to the top of each rail panel, giving a classic, rounded shape to your railing:
The Accent Top Panel, meanwhile, is a slim, 6-inch-tall panel that adds a unique pattern to the top of your railing, like the ring top panel shown below:
Step 3: Specialized Installation Tools
- Color-matching Touch-up Paint: Spray Paint or Touch-Up Paint Pen (recommended)
Because of the pre-welded panels and pre-bracketed posts, Fortress FE26 railing is one of the easiest railings in the world to install. And any DIYer can do it without requiring a lot of specialized installation tools.
The one installation accessory we highly recommend is touch-up paint. If any part of your railing gets scuffed or scratched, touch-up paint will instantly cover the scuff with color- and texture-matching paint.
Fortress FE26 paint comes in two forms: a traditional can of spray paint and a touch-up pen for smaller, more precise touching up.
Touch-Up Spray Paint For Fortress FE26 Steel Railing
Touch-Up Paint Pen for Fortress FE26 Steel Railing
Supplementary Shopping Lists For Special Cases
If your deck has unique shapes or features, you may need to combine the shopping list at the top with one of these additional shopping lists.
What Do I Need For Angled Railing Connections?
What you'll need:
Not all decks have standard, 90-degree corners. If your deck has a unique angle like the 45-degree corner cutout above, you'll need one extra piece to tailor your railing to your unique shape.
Fortress offers a simple set of Rail Bracket Angle Adapters that you can use to adjust the angle up to 45 degrees in any direction. You can use these for level sections connected at an angle, or for railing sections that angle downwards into stairs.
Can I Cut One Rail Kit Into Two Short Sections?
What you'll need:
If you need two short railing sections, you can save on materials by buying one longer rail section and cutting it into two smaller pieces you can use in two different places on your deck. Use a miter saw with a ferrous metal-cutting blade, file down any sharp edges, and coat the cut ends with two coats of touch-up paint.
A few things to keep in mind if you plan to cut a longer section down into two shorter sections:
You'll need an extra set of brackets. Each rail kit only comes with enough brackets to fit a single rail section. So if you're cutting one rail kit into two, you'll need to buy an extra set of rail brackets, as shown below:
Allow for some lost length during cutting. Make sure you buy a rail long enough to fit both your sections, plus a little extra. To space our your balusters evenly from each post, you may have to cut out and throw away some portion of the panel you're cutting. For example, you won't be able to buy a 4-foot section to cover two 2-foot sections - we'd recommend buying at least one extra foot. For example, buy a 6-foot rail section to cut down into two 2-1/2-foot rail sections.
Include touch-up paint to cover your cut ends. Fortress FE26 railing is powder-coated to protect from corrosion. When you cut a rail, you'll expose some of the underlying steel. Fortunately, a quick coating of touch-up paint will cover that surface and protect your railing from corroding in the elements.
What Do I Need For A Deck Board Drink Rail?
What you'll need:
- Cap Rail Clips
- Deck Boards (flat-bottom boards only - scalloped bottom boards won't work for drink rails)
Fortress FE26 is perfectly designed to add a deck board on top as a functional drink rail.
How do you get it? Just add Cap Rail Clips to your shopping checklist. They'll fit around your top rail and attach the deck board of your choice. Wood, composite, PVC - you can mount any of these as a drink rail. Just make sure you use boards with flat bottoms and not any scalloped or fluted bottoms. They won't mount in a stable way like flat bottom boards will.
Can I Use Existing Wood Posts?
What you'll need:
If your deck already has wood posts, you can save some time and expense by mounting Fortress steel railing panels between your wood posts like the gorgeous rustic setup above.
Just get regular Universal Fortress Brackets and attach them directly to your wood posts. For a thicker, more traditional look, you can also try Fortress Collar Brackets.
What Do I Need For A Safety Handrail?
What you'll need:
- Square Handrail Sections
- Handrail Brackets
- Internal Handrail Connectors
- Handrail Returns
- Handrail Plugs
Fortress offers a coordinating handrail you can use to make your deck stairs safer and easier to navigate. And it even comes in the same three finish options so you can perfectly match it to your FE26 railing!
Just connect long handrail sections and use secure bracket mounts to attach them to the railing, as shown above. The C-shaped end cap is called a handrail return, or you can plug the hollow ends of the handrail with handrail plugs.
What Do I Need For A Coordinating Gate?
For openings up to 34-1/2 inches:
For wider openings up to 48 inches:
As an added safety feature for children, pets, or other guests, you can cap off your railing with a matching gate.
Depending on the size of your opening, you can use Fortress's easy pre-welded gate, or the more customizable gate panel and uprights. We love adding gates, especially to decks with stairs, to keep the deck surface totally safe and secure.
Free Planning Help
If you need help making sure you've got everything you need to complete your deck railing project, just give our team a call. We've got a staff of experienced deck project planners available by phone to help you get everything you need in one order - no over-buying or needing to come back for a second order.
Call Us: 1-888-824-5316