PVC Railing

A railing that reads as part of the landscape

The sections are PVC, extruded as rails and bars and assembled between posts. That changes what the railing is for: colour comes from the extrusion, so a white, blue, red or green line is the material rather than a coating that has to be maintained, and the profile is smooth in a way that painted steel is not.

It is specified by the post. Three sizes are published — 58 × 78 mm small, 88 × 88 mm medium and 121 × 121 mm large — and the choice follows the run: the small post for short garden and lawn runs, the medium post for the usual community and roadside boundary, the large post where the railing is taller, more exposed or carries a longer span between posts.

That places it firmly on the landscape side of the family. Where the line has to take vehicle impact or do security duty, it is the wrong product, and the published specification says so: for those, the zinc-steel perimeter railing or the road guardrail is quoted instead. Around a planted bed on a footway, the shorter planter railing is the closer match.

PVC railing — profile sizes and post options

The profile sizes and the three post options are published. Run length, height, post spacing and the post fixing are not: they are made to the drawing, which is why this page quotes sections rather than a standard bay.

What the profile and the post sizes give you

• Colour in the material. The hue comes from the extrusion, not from a coating, so white, blue, red and green are part of the section.
• Three post sizes on one range. 58 × 78 mm, 88 × 88 mm and 121 × 121 mm, chosen against the run and its exposure.
• Published profile sizes. Rails 36 × 56 mm and vertical bars 20 × 46 mm, so the visual weight of the railing is known before it is drawn.
• Domestic virgin material. Made from new resin rather than from reground or recycled stock, as the manufacturer states.
• An honest scope. The published specification says plainly that this is not a vehicle impact or security product, and names what is quoted instead.
• Made to the run. Length, height, post spacing and fixing come off the drawing, so a railing is quoted as a line rather than as bays off a shelf.

Run, height and fixing come off the drawing

No standard section length or height is published, so the railing is made to the drawing: send the run in metres, the height you want and the colour reference, and the sections, the post size and the panel layout are confirmed on the shop drawing. The post fixing is part of the same drawing, because a post bedded in a planting strip, bolted to a kerb and set into paving are three different details.

Two decisions are worth making early. The post size sets the visual weight of the line and the span it can carry, so choose it against the height rather than after it. And the colour is fixed by the extrusion, which means a late change of colour is a change of material rather than a change of paint — better settled with the run length than after the sections are made.

Rails, bars and posts, bundled by section

Rails, bars, posts and fittings are bundled and palletised for container loading. Extruded profile is light for its length but easy to bow, so rails travel in supported bundles rather than loose, and the fittings are bagged against the drawing reference. The exact packing method is confirmed per specification with the loading plan.

Four questions, answered from this page

What profile sizes are published?

Rails 36 × 56 mm and vertical bars 20 × 46 mm, with posts in three sizes: 58 × 78 mm small, 88 × 88 mm medium and 121 × 121 mm large.

Which post size should I use?

The small post suits short garden and lawn runs, the medium post the usual community and roadside boundary, and the large post where the railing is taller, more exposed or carries a longer span between posts.

What colours are available?

White, blue, red, green and others. The colour is set by the extrusion rather than by a coating.

What is the railing made from?

PVC profile in domestic virgin material — new resin rather than reground or recycled stock, as the manufacturer states.

Can it be used on a road boundary?

Not where vehicle impact or security is the issue. For that duty the published specification points to the zinc-steel perimeter railing or the road guardrail in the same family.