Dek Rail FAQ

Our lead time can & does vary depending on what time of the year or season. Typically though most orders are prepared meaning packaged and ready for shipping within two weeks from the deposit paid. Custom frame colors usually add one additional week prep time. Actual transit time for most all carriers & destinations throughout Canada is 3 – 5 business days & USA shipments 3 – 7 business days.

All Dek Rail shipments regardless of ultimate destination have clear instructions to the carrier to call the customer in advance to arrange the final delivery day. Usually they are not able to provide an exact time to the hour but can advise if morning or afternoon. You are free to request a different day if that would work better for you. For insurance reasons carriers will not just show up unannounced & drop off your materials unless they have made first made contact with you in advance.

Most Dek Rail shipment packages can be broken down into two main sizes. There will be smaller rectangle typical sized packages that contain your posts & all related frame connection hardware. Then there are the longer packages that contain your horizontal frame members such as the top rail & bottom rail components. All materials for your order are packed in a size or quantity that can be easily moved by one person or two people if needed. A fork lift is not required to off load. All materials are wrapped in flexible soft foam & plastic wrap or both for inner material protection & then fully encased in rigid 3 ply carboard with full length 2 x 2 inch x 1/8 inch thick edge protector cardboard on exterior. All Dek Rail packaging materials are 100% recycle friendly.

Prior to us calling in your Dek Rail shipment for pickup from our facility you will be emailed a packing sheet that shows the following information. Total amount of packages in your shipment. Each package notes L x W x H in inches & individual weight. Next to the weight it also notes the general contents of that specific package. I.E. you will know which package contains your hardware items. All packages are also numbered in the following format: # 1 of 6 pcs, etc. In the very rare event any package is missing you will know right away which one is not present at time of delivery.

Yes, once your Dek Rail order is officially picked up at our facility the shipper will provide a tracking number which will be emailed to you as well as the carriers company name or website address. Usually the tracking number is not officially entered into the shippers online data base until a few hours after the goods were picked up but should work for sure by that evening or next day & onward.

Dek Rail is a N.A.F.T.A. compliant product so no taxes are payable for USA orders. The order is subject to Border Entry or Broker fees & these are paid by Dek Rail. Orders destined to a location within Canada are taxed at their respective Province rates. I.E. Ontario orders at 13% & Alberta at 5%, etc.

Every effort is made to carefully pack all Dek Rail materials by our crew so they arrive without any issues. We only use carriers that have demonstrated a proven track record for being reliable both in meeting shipping transit times & arrival without damage. That said, in rare events damage can sometimes occur. While you are unloading each package it should be carefully inspected at the same time & if significant damage is noticed take some photos or video of this damage & be sure to note the packages item number. I.E. package # 5. Since some shippers interline with other carriers it is important to also note the final delivery trucks company name & drivers name or driver number. Please then send this information to Dek Rail. At our option we may follow up with a claim but in any event whatever materials damaged beyond use will be replaced & re-shipped in a timely manner by Dek Rail at no charge to you.

At time of quoting Dek Rail for your project or before we actually start any pack or prep work you will be provided with a layout plan showing how many posts are required & general locations. All lengths regardless if deck or stair runs will be noted on this plan in linear feet. Horizontal materials are provided in our stock lengths or a quantity greater than what you will actually need. I.E. If a run is 28 feet you will receive 2 pcs at 15 feet to make sure you have enough to complete that area. If a stair run is 8 feet you will be sent a pc that is around 10 feet. Our longest stock lengths for horizontals is 15 linear feet. We have been shipping Dek Rail for over 30 years now so there is no guess work in how an order is prepared. Our mandate is to get it right the first time so no further shipping is required to finish your new Dek Rail railings.

Dek Rail screens are designed as “floating” assemblies to act as an independent structure on top of a roof membrane. The posts are secured to concrete pavers which float on the membrane so no roof penetrations are required. For this reason they are perfect for existing or older buildings as they can be added without any construction or modifications needed to the actual roof assembly.

There are HVAC roof screens that are purpose designed to be fully braced & structurally secured to the roof. In this case the roof needs to be prepared with intentional mounting footings during a new build or the roof must be modified after the fact to create waterproof mounting points for these assemblies. Typically these are used for hiding rooftop equipment that require the screens to be an excessive height or run length. Dek Rail HVAC Hide Screes are perfectly suitable for heights at 60 inches or less. Most roof units only require a screen height at or around 48 inches. The extra tall screens are typically used for heavy equipment industrial applications.

Initially we designed the screens with our grooved post frame which has channels in the posts that accept 11/16 thick or 1 x material. We have now changed the posts to our ungrooved version which looks exactly the same profile wise. Now you are free to use whatever wood board materials you wish meaning 11/16, or rough 1 inch for example. This works out better since lower grades of wood tend to vary on thickness so in this new configuration the boards will always fit the frame openings. This is the same posts which are provided for the all aluminum screen version featuring aluminum slats for the panels.

Yes. All screen surrounds can have an opening & gate for easy access to service the equipment. So the version with wood panels can have a matching wood slat gate & the all aluminum screen version would have a matching aluminum slat gate. Technicians would never be required to climb over the Dek Rail screens to service the units.

This is quite simple. Whatever the size of the unit width & length wise you should allow a 3 foot open space all around. This will provide the tech full access to service the unit anytime required. I.E. If a unit measures 6 feet length then that side for the screen run should be 12 feet or 3 + 6 + 3. If large vents or metal shrouds are proud of the unit on any side you should calculate the 3 foot rule or space from that amount rather than the units side wall panels. Height can be either flush with the units topmost measure to the roof membrane or we suggest adding an extra 4 inches so the screen hides the top of the units better at seated eye level. I.E. If the unit height measures 36 inches we would recommend a screen total height of 40 inches.

No. Just like our deck railing frame the Dek Rail roof top screens were designed with the D.I.Y. person in mind. Common hand & power tools will easily install the product. There is zero welding involved to assemble the screens. Since there is no construction modifications needed to the roof install is fast & easy with minimal labor time required.

Roof top equipment hide screens regardless of supplier should always have panels that promote full air flow through the actual panels themselves. Such a design will greatly reduce stress from excessive wind loading conditions. So for this reason it is important to retain an open air space between the slats whether they are wood panel versions or the aluminum slat versions. Recommended vertical member spacing is 1.5 inches.