Choosing a rope for a handrail
Table of contents
With so many options and technical specifications, it can quickly become complicated to find your way around and make the right choice.
As rope manufacturers, it is precisely our specialty to support you and offer you the best solution.
With this buying and technical guide, you will have all the information you need to make the right choice.
Decorative equipment
Let's remember an essential element before going any further:
a rope railing, whatever the option or configuration chosen, remains above all a piece of decorative and furnishing equipment.
If you are looking for a vertical fall protection system made of rope, then it is a railing net, guaranteed to be very robust and safe, which we also custom-make.
But as professionals, we simply consider plain rope to be ornamental and design.
Indoor or outdoor use
Depending on whether you are going to install your rope railing indoors or outdoors, we will recommend different materials.
Indoors, any type of rope will be protected from bad weather and perhaps even from the sun's rays (and therefore UV) depending on its location.
In this case, there is no problem, all materials will be very suitable, including natural and sensitive plant fibers.
Outdoors, for example for the staircase of a suspended wooden terrace, the rope will be exposed to rain, frost, UV rays…
While a natural material like hemp may be suitable, its lifespan will be greatly reduced.
Therefore, for outdoor use, we recommend synthetic textile fibers, including: polyester, polyamide or textured polypropylene (this is what is called synthetic hemp).
And if you don't know what to choose between polyamide or polyester, let us know, we'll advise you :)
Above all, the other criteria will help with the decision.
Choice of colors
When you want to decorate and furnish your house or apartment, you obviously think about a certain choice of colors.
Your rope railing must fit perfectly into the design and atmosphere of your home, without clashing or shocking.
With polyester braids (this is a rope often used on boats, like a halyard for maneuvering sails), the choice of colors is rather wide and varied: white, beige, blue, red rope…
In general, if you want color, it will be polyester.
Conversely, a hemp or imitation hemp rope will always have the same color, between cream and khaki. It is truly the traditional rope of old sailing ships of yesteryear.
The question of diameter
Here's a good technical question: what diameter to choose?
Most often, a diameter of 8mm or 10mm is recommended.
Why is that?
Below 8mm, it's more like string. The overall appearance gives a low-quality and less robust rendering for such an installation. In this context of use, it looks more like a toy than a real rope.
Above 14mm in diameter, conversely, the rope begins to be truly imposing.
And as soon as the diameter exceeds 20mm, we will approach the diameters used for stair railings or handrails… far too wide here.
The 8mm or 10mm diameter is a happy medium that allows it to present a solid and qualitative equipment, without becoming too imposing. It also lets light pass through more easily.
Your rope railing dresses your staircase and your interior, it should not hide it and become the only thing you notice.
Ease of attachment
If the diameter and material have an impact on the ease with which the rope is worked, the manufacturing method also plays a role.
With a natural fiber like hemp, the rope has a beautiful twisted visual appearance.
However, succeeding in passing it through the various rings or attachment points is more complicated, as the material tends to snag more.
With a synthetic textile fiber, as with our polyester braids, the feel of the rope is very smooth. It is much easier to install and pass through the anchor points (rings, eye bolts, deck plates, etc.).
Therefore, if you are looking for a quick and easy solution, opt for a polyester rope.
Tension
The last point to check to make the right choice is the management of tension and its durability over time.
While a natural twisted rope made of vegetable fibers, with a very pleasant feel and a beautiful visual appearance, is very effective, it will also tend to relax quickly.
It will therefore be necessary to regularly re-tension the rope, which can be done very easily using an accessory called a turnbuckle.
You fix it at one end, and when you need to tension the rope, you easily adjust the tension. We sell them in A4 stainless steel, designed to withstand a marine environment: they will resist very well at your home, including on the terrace or in the garden.
For a synthetic rope railing, there are so-called pre-stretched products.
This is again the case with our polyester braid.
What does it consist of?
The halyard is pre-stretched and has already undergone an initial forced elongation in the workshop. Thus, when installed, it will be less likely to stretch undesirably.
It maintains its tension much longer, you install it for a long time without needing to adjust it frequently.
In conclusion, simply make a list of what you want for your rope railing (color, ease of installation, location…) and we can offer you the best solution.
Of course, if you are still hesitant, ask us! Our team will be able to advise you.
To help you in your research, here are also our other practical guides:
