How to erect a fence?

[SomeUser]

Okay, first off it's not quite a fence, but...

I live on quite a steep hill. The front garden slopes down quite a bit, and the path along the front of the house is raised above that (about 1 foot). There's no handrail or anything, so there's always the danger of falling, not just onto the garden, but also potentially much further. So I want to install a handrail along the edge away from the house, just to give myself a feeling of security.

The path is concrete or something similar, and actually has slots along the edge where I could install posts. I assume that's in fact what they are intended for. There doesn't seem to be a way of attaching posts to the concrete though - no holes for bolts or similar.

So, two questions:

1. How should I install posts for the handrail/fence? I'm guessing it might be better to attach them to the concrete somehow rather than drive them into the ground, but what's the best way to do that?

2. What sort of materials should I use? Timber seems the obvious, but is it "best"? I realise that "best" is probably subjective, and will be a compromise between cost, ease of installation, durability, and so on. I'm just interested in what people's suggestions are as to the pros and cons.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tigercubrider]

The easiest is probably key clamp or similar.
It consists of metal tubes and bolt together sockets/couplings.
You would need to be able to drill for fixings in concrete
Worst case you could dig holes and concrete the posts in

Free cutting- you would need to plan carefully
https://www.alvinkeyclamp.co.uk/list/quick-handrail-kits-size-7

 

[SomeUser]

Thanks Tiger.

You would need to be able to drill for fixings in concrete

That's basically what I was wondering, whether it's better to drill and somehow fix the posts (of whatever material) to the concrete, and if so how, or to concrete the posts into the ground. The latter is my least favourite option, just because it would involve a lot of digging, which isn't my favourite pastime.

 

[Tigercubrider]

Key clamp make top hat like sockets that screw down to a horizontal surface and ones that screw to a vertical surface. (Both holding a vertical pole)
also sockets that can be cemented into the ground


https://www.themetalstore.co.uk/key...FA2GKvATRRwsKzuGtQmJi0qQCU_yhgvBoCZyYQAvD_BwE

Digging a small tight but deep hole is quite hard, but possible. The idea is to disturb as little of the ground as possible so using a metal gardening trowel, and a metal rod enables a deep hole to excavated but remain narrow. There are special post hole diggers but not worth it for a few posts

 

[SomeUser]

Thanks.

Is it possible to drill into and mount posts to the edge of the concrete forming the path? What would I need to use to fix the posts to it?

 

[Tigercubrider]

https://www.themetalstore.co.uk/key...FA2GKvATRRwsKzuGtQmJi0qQCU_yhgvBoCZyYQAvD_BwE

Bottom item 246 plus possibly 198 for each vertical
Big screws and plugs drilled into solid brick or concrete.
Or similar frame fixers/rawl bolts

I would check with the supplier and email a sketch. It will be a lot sturdier if you can fix one end to the building