Replacing/repairing pool railing

[LouiseT]

Hello! The bolts on my pool railing have rusted through and broken off. After I remove the pool railing (assuming I can get it off…) should I drill out the broken bolts? How do I do that? (I do have a hammer drill) Would you recommend I use the same holes or should I move the railing and drill 4 new holes? What type of bolts should I use? Any advice on how to do this is much appreciated. I have attached a couple photos.Thanks!

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

You would use screws, not bolts. Bolts require nuts, which aren't there.

If you can cleanly drill out the remaining screws, great. If not, it looks like you may have enough wiggle room to drill new holes while hiding the old ones with the base of the railing. A rotary hammer might work better than a hammer drill.

You'll want to use screw anchors, plastic or metal, rather than just screwing into concrete.

 

[LouiseT]

You would use screws, not bolts. Bolts require nuts, which aren't there.

If you can cleanly drill out the remaining screws, great. If not, it looks like you may have enough wiggle room to drill new holes while hiding the old ones with the base of the railing. A rotary hammer might work better than a hammer drill.

You'll want to use screw anchors, plastic or metal, rather than just screwing into concrete.

Thanks Rocket….I'll give it a shot!

 

[keithw]

I would think that drilling out the old ones would be pretty hard. I would drill new ones slight closer to the pool so that the old ones were still covered. I installed a rail a few years ago and they come with anchors that you hammer into the holes you drill. It is super solid when installed. In the link below you can see the anchors and bolts they generally supply.

Amazon.com

 

[sktn77a]

Yes, I would drill holes next to the old bolts and then epoxy a bolt into the hole (like they do with diving board bases):

Diving Board Stand Anchoring Kit with Five 6x1/2 Inch Stainless Bolts - 75-209-5874-SS

This is a Diving Board Installation Epoxy Kit for the Steel Meter Diving Stand which is used to install the stand on an existing pool deck. The kit can be used on the S.R. Smith 1/2, 3/4 and 1 meter dive stands. The kit includes five 6 x 1/2 inch 316 Stainless Steel bolts and an epoxy-based...

www.poolweb.com

 

[LouiseT]

I have the railing removed…pretty easy….just broke off it was so rusty I used a hacksaw to cut it flat and sanded it down to make it smooth. Definitely plan on just moving the rail a bit rather than drilling out the rusted old screws.

A new question for you….have been researching a bit more….I am no electrician….but does the handrail have to be electrically 'bonded'? If so…how does one do that? Do I need an electrician or is that something I can do? I have no idea if the original handrail was electrically bonded…pool built around 1996-1997. Thanks everyone!

 

[sktn77a]

Yes it does. There likely was a copper bond wire going in/under the concrete to one or more of the original bolts.