Railing Hardware for Fabricators: Cut Lists and Tolerances
How-To · · By Prince Railing
A cut list a factory can work from states section, finish, length and quantity per item, plus where each piece goes. Allow for building tolerance in the gaps rather than the cut, and settle the stair fittings before the order — a flight that returns at a half-landing needs 180 degree jointers.
Fabricators are the people who actually make our hardware work on site, and most avoidable problems trace back to the same two things: an ambiguous cut list, and fittings discovered late.
What a workable cut list contains
| Field | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Product / section | 125 x 70 mm continuous bracket | Identifies the profile exactly |
| Finish | Matt, or powder-coated to a stated RAL | Affects batch and lead time |
| Length | Per piece, in one unit | Mixed units are the commonest error |
| Quantity | Per length | Avoids inferring counts |
| Location reference | "Terrace run A, panels 1-6" | Lets us query something that looks wrong |
| Cut ends | Square, or mitred and to what angle | Rake and corner pieces |
| Handing | Left or right where it applies | Some fittings are handed |
Work in a single unit throughout and state it at the top. Feet and millimetres mixed in one list is the most frequent cause of a remade piece on Indian projects.
Where the tolerance goes
Openings are rarely square and walls are rarely plumb. The instinct is to cut the profile to suit; the better approach is to absorb the variation in the gaps rather than the cut, because consistent gaps are what the eye reads along a run. Set out from the centre so any adjustment lands in the end panels — the reasoning is in our setting out guide.
Glass is the hard constraint. It cannot be cut or drilled once toughened, so panel sizes must come off a survey of the built opening and every cut-out must be specified before the order.
Settle the fittings before you order
This is where jobs stall. A straight balcony run needs end caps and wall fittings; a staircase needs considerably more:
- Fix bend for turning a corner.
- 90 degree jointer for a quarter-turn.
- 180 degree jointer where a flight returns on itself at a half-landing.
- Wall conceal where the rail returns into a wall.
- End caps on every exposed termination.
Not every profile takes every fitting, and that constraint should narrow the profile shortlist before aesthetics do. The matrix showing which handrail takes which fitting is on the top handrails page, and the selection logic is in our handrail profiles guide.
Things worth confirming before delivery
- Substrate at every fixing position, and whether the deck is waterproofed — it decides the anchor, and sometimes the system. See anchors and fixings.
- Whether the floor finish is down, because heights are measured from it.
- Access and storage on site. Glass needs somewhere flat, dry and protected.
- Whether other trades are finished, since protective film should come off last.
Working with the factory
Send the survey and the sketch rather than only the list, so anything that looks inconsistent can be queried before it is cut. On a large or unusual job, order one bay first and prove the detail on site before committing the whole run.
Send your cut list and drawings and we will confirm the sections, the fittings and the quantities before anything is cut.
Frequently Asked Questions
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