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Back Porch Project: Cap Rails, Hand Rail & More

Sunday, November 15, 2026 0:01

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Cap rail, railing cap, top rail, handrail, whatever. Depending on how the porch is built, the top rails, and cut ends of the posts and balusters needed to be covered. Here it is before . . .

Ready to be topped off with a cap rail

Cap Rails can be purchased ready-made, but as with almost everything else, Dan made his own. Possible materials included a 2×4 on its side, or decking boards. The boards were wider than what he wanted but the depth was right, so he ripped them to width and sanded the edges.

With trim to cover how Dan cut away to install the balusters.

From the ground before finishing the stair railing.

Not only does it give the porch a nice finished look, but it’s further usefulness was immediately demonstrated by our youngest Snoopervisors.

Gracie and Violet

The next thing to be done was a proper handrail for the stair case.

Not typical but works well considering the stair rail is so close to the porch rail.

Done except for the finishing touch.

Here’s the “more” I mentioned in the blog post title. To finish the staircase, we wanted something interesting to top those bottom posts. Here’s what I found.

Solar post lights

I found them at Amazon and have to say that we just love them. They come on automatically at dusk, and fully charged, are said to last up to 12 hours. A switch lets you choose warm or cool color light. They are made of aluminum and glass (not plastic) and come with several post collars to fit any size square post. Here’s the link. There are many styles to choose from.

Almost done except for skirting.

The underneath part still needs to be closed off, a project that will wait a bit while Dan helps me with a project in the garden. In the meantime, we’ve been able to enjoy some gorgeous autumn weather on our new back porch!

Sitting corner. These are from Amazon too. The chairs (link here) are cast aluminum
and really comfortable. I like that the back is more upright than other porch chairs. The
bistro table is also cast aluminum (link here), with a hole for an umbrella if we want.

I would have preferred to buy porch furniture locally, so I can determine quality and comfort first hand. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find outdoor furniture this time of year, and I didn’t want to wait until next spring! As it is, with careful reading of product descriptions and reviews plus comparing product weights, I was able to make good choices.

Back entry. You can just see the kitty door under the bench and Dan’s telescope
in the corner. The bench is cast iron and aluminum. The link to see that is here.

Parting shot.

Our solar post lights at night. I love that they illuminate the steps.
They shine all night and turn off when it becomes light outside.

We had our first frost on Saturday morning, with the forecast predicting much cooler temps now. But if we have a mild winter this year, we should get a few more nice, sunny days to enjoy our new porch.

Back Porch Project: Cap Rails, Stair Rail, More

Source: https://www.5acresandadream.com/2026/11/back-porch-project-cap-rails-hand-rail.html

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