Iron, steel, glass, cable and wood railings — designed, fabricated and installed by a licensed San Diego contractor since 1984. Every run built to pass inspection, not just to look right.
Fred's Fencing Inc. designs, fabricates and installs custom railings for residential and commercial properties across San Diego County. From interior stairways in Carmel Valley homes to exterior balcony railings on La Jolla oceanfront condos, we match the material, style and engineering to the demands of each project.
Railing work differs from fence installation in one critical way: every railing is a fall-protection system governed by the California Building Code. That difference in consequence drives everything about how we approach materials, connections and load testing.
The same crew, a completely different standard of care.
That is why every run we build is measured to the fraction of an inch, torqued to specification, and load tested at multiple points before we close out the project.
CBC Section 1015 governs every guardrail on a walking surface — decks, balconies, stairs, porches and ramps. These are not suggestions; they are permit-inspection requirements.
A railing that does not meet CBC specifications will fail inspection, delay your project, and potentially expose you to liability if anyone is injured. We build to the spec the inspector is holding.
Installed price per linear foot, drawn on one shared $20–$300 scale so you can compare the four directly.
Our most requested material since 1984 — and a natural fit for San Diego's Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean architecture. Square, round, twisted and hammered pickets, scrollwork and custom finials.
20 ft stair run: $1,000–$1,500 basic pickets; $2,400+ with scrollwork and a specialty finish.
Horizontal stainless cables tensioned between posts — clean sightlines for contemporary homes where preserving an ocean, canyon or hillside view is the whole point.
4-inch sphere test typically needs 12–15 horizontal runs on a 36-inch residential railing.
Tempered or laminated safety glass in posts, base channels or standoff clamps. Completely unobstructed views — see our glass fence work for the same system outdoors.
Framed $95–$175; frameless (½″–¾″ glass, no visible posts) $150–$300. Glazing meets ANSI Z97.1 or CPSC 16 CFR 1201.
A warm, natural fit for decks, patios and garden-level porches. Pressure-treated pine is the budget option; cedar and redwood bring better weather resistance and richer grain. See our wood fencing & gates.
Pine $20–$50; cedar and redwood $35–$65. All wood needs sealing or staining every 1–2 years in San Diego sun.
Every iron and steel piece is powder coated with a UV and corrosion-resistant finish rated for coastal exposure. On cable systems, stainless posts with marine-grade 316 cable and swage fittings sit at the top of the range; wood posts with standard cable bring it down to $75–$95 per linear foot.
Four jobs, four different code sections. Hover a card to see which rule governs it.
CBC 1014
We install stair railings in iron, cable, glass and wood — matching the specification to the architecture and to the code requirement.
4 or more risers need a graspable handrail 34–38 in high. Open sides over 30 in above grade also need a guardrail.
36 / 42 in
Upper floors, loft walkways and rooftop decks all need commercial-height guardrails at 42 in, or 36 in residential, depending on occupancy classification.
La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas and Pacific Beach need marine-grade hardware and finishes that resist salt corrosion.
Daily load
San Diego's climate keeps decks in year-round use. A well-built deck railing handles UV, occasional rain, and people leaning, sitting and pushing against it daily.
Matched to the decking: composite pairs best with aluminium or cable; wood decks call for matching wood or iron.
Decorative
Decorative railings mounted straight to the exterior wall beneath a window or French doors — no walkable platform. We fabricate them in ornamental iron with custom scrollwork and profiles.
Purely aesthetic — common on Mediterranean and Spanish-style homes in San Diego's older neighbourhoods.
We measure every connection point on site — post base, wall mount, corner transition, stair angle — to the fraction of an inch, because no railing run is truly straight or level.
We present options based on your aesthetic preferences, code requirements and budget. For custom ironwork we produce a detailed sketch showing picket style, spacing, scroll placement and finish colour before fabrication begins.
Iron and steel railings are welded and assembled in our shop, then powder coated. That controlled environment produces cleaner welds and more consistent finishes than field fabrication.
Posts are anchored into concrete, bolted to structural framing or core-mounted into existing surfaces, depending on the application. Every connection is torqued to specification and checked for plumb, level and rigidity.
We verify all measurements against code requirements, test load resistance at multiple points, and walk through the completed installation with you before closing out the project.
Iron, cable and glass railings built across San Diego County. Tap any photo to enlarge it.
Send us the stair, balcony or deck and we'll come measure it. You get material options, a written itemised quote, and a straight answer on what the code requires for your specific run — before anything gets fabricated.
Five steps, the same on every job — from first measurement to load test.
Railing costs vary widely by material. Iron railings run $50 to $120 per linear foot. Cable railings cost $75 to $260. Glass railings range from $95 to $300. Wood is the most affordable at $20 to $65 per linear foot.
A typical 25-foot residential stair railing lands between $1,500 and $4,000 for most materials.
Guardrail installation on new construction or major remodels requires a building permit in San Diego.
Replacing an existing railing with a new one in the same location may not require a permit if the structural connections remain unchanged — but the new railing must still meet current CBC specifications. We advise checking with the city before starting.
Stainless steel (marine-grade 316) and powder-coated aluminium have the longest maintenance-free lifespans — 30 to 50 years with minimal upkeep.
Iron lasts equally long but needs periodic recoating every 5 to 10 years to prevent rust, particularly within 5 miles of the coast. Wood has the shortest lifespan at 10 to 20 years depending on species and maintenance.
A handrail is a graspable rail that provides support while walking on stairs or ramps. A guardrail (or guard) is a barrier that prevents falls from an elevated surface.
Many installations require both — a graspable handrail within the guardrail structure. California code treats them as separate components with separate requirements.