Forged Deck Railing with Arched Trellis and Weathervane

Project Overview

A forged deck railing with scrolled infill panels, carrying an arched trellis frame above it that spans between the existing timber posts. A bird weathervane sits at the apex of the arch, so the highest point of the assembly is also the piece that moves.

The scrollwork runs as a continuous decorative band along the deck edge rather than as repeated identical panels, and the arch ties the two ends of the run together into one composition instead of leaving the railing as a straight line stopping at a post.

What We Built

• A forged railing run with scrolled infill along the deck edge
• An arched trellis frame springing from the existing timber posts and crossing above the railing
• A weathervane with a bird figure mounted at the apex of the arch
• Fixings detailed to work with the timber posts and deck structure already in place

The Challenge

The arch had to land on posts that were already standing. When you fabricate to an existing timber structure, the posts are never quite plumb and never quite evenly spaced, so an arch made symmetrical in the shop will sit visibly crooked once it is lifted into place. The arch was set out from the posts as they actually were rather than from a drawing, which is why it reads level across the top even though what it lands on is not.

The scrollwork also had to sit against the sky rather than a wall. Backlit, every bar reads as a silhouette, so gaps and inconsistencies show far more than they would against a solid background — the spacing has to hold up as a shape, not just as a fence.

Project Gallery

Deck and balcony guards with decorative infill are part of our custom railings work.