Attaching flower boxes to a non-standard deck railing

February 23, 2016 12:08 PM

I am looking for something like these to attach some flower boxes to our porch - the catch? The railing around the porch that I need to attach them to is not a standard size.

The brackets need to be able to accommodate a porch railing that is 7.5" (INCHES) wide - my Google/shopping-fu is failing me, and spring is coming. Help me get this off my to do list, hivemind.

posted by ryanshepard to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

I asked a very similar question to this 11 years (holy crap 11 years!) ago. Maybe some of the suggestions there will be helpful.

I am sorry to report that I never did find a good solution.
posted by AgentRocket at 12:17 PM on February 23, 2016

You could have them fabricated by someone who works with metal.
posted by mareli at 12:25 PM on February 23, 2016

Pretty sure you won't find anything meeting your criteria without having it fabricated (this is super simple for an iron worker to make). Otherwise, have you consider attaching a flower box to the face of the railing, just below the top?
posted by zagyzebra at 12:51 PM on February 23, 2016

Something that might you feel better if you don't find what you're looking for: I had a box hanging on a balcony railing like this and the weight caused the railing to warp and then crack requiring it to be replaced.
posted by cecic at 12:54 PM on February 23, 2016

Just buy two pairs of these instead. Remove the bottom sliding brackets from two of them, and the top sliding brackets from the other two. Now install the removed bottom sliders (which are adjustable up to 21 cm or 8.25 inches) as railing holders in place of the top sliding brackets on the other pair. You now have two brackets that will hold flower boxes that are up to 8.25 inches on railings that are up to 8.25 inches.

Alternatively, with the ones you're looking at, remove and throw away the top sliders, and just screw the top bracket straight into the porch railing with good screws or lag bolts.
posted by beagle at 12:56 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

If you bought the brackets you referenced, it would be fairly easy to replace the piece that goes over the railing. Buy some steel strapping at a home store, bend in a vise with a hammer, cut to length with a hacksaw, drill a hole for the bolt, spray paint with primer and finish color. A nice, fairly easy project, with minimal investment.
posted by H21 at 12:56 PM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Here are brackets for 2x8 railings (actually 7.5 inches). You buy the flower boxes separately and screw them to the brackets.
posted by JackFlash at 11:50 PM on February 23, 2016