Frequently Asked Questions

Answer:  No.  In order to maintain PCI DSS compliance, MHD does not accept credit card numbers by telephone.  We've made every effort to make our web site as user-friendly as possible!  Our goal is to offer a safe and seamless online ordering experience.  If we can make it better for you, please contact us, and let us know how!

We do not have a credit card processing machine in our office.  All credit cards are run via the Internet.

If you wish to make payment in another form, please contact us t inquire about doing so.  Be advised that making a payment by check or money order will have a longer lead time, as no products will be sent until form of payment is validated by our bank, as well as the issuing bank.

You may also be asked to complete a credit history form before we agree to accept a money order or check.

Answer:  You will receive an error if you attempt to order an item that is out of stock.  If you have further questions about our inventory, please contact us, and we will be pleased to assist you.

Answer:  When our system declines a credit card, an error message should accompany the denial.  If our system declines your card, there is a problem with 1) your credit card type; 2) your billing address / zip code; 3) your credit card number; 4) your CVV2 code; 5) the name of the person and/or business to which the credit card is issued to; 6) the expiration date.  These are all very simple discrepancies, which can occur when entering credit card information.  If all of this information has been correctly entered, and your card is still being denied, you must call your issuing bank.  There could be a "hold" or a "stop" put on your card for various reasons.  We cannot push a credit card through our system.  If you cannot get the charge to process, unfortunately, neither can we.  You may also try using Google Checkout or PayPal as your payment type, rather than our payment system.

Answer:  No.  There is never a need for anyone to call us to confirm their online order.  If you received an order number and order confirmation, that means that we also have received notification of your order.  You may check the status of your order at any time, by going here: http://www.railing-designs.com/orderstatus.

If you have questions about your order, please e-mail us at order@railing-designs.com.

Answer:  A valid e-mail address should be used to place your order, as you will receive a receipt, as well as shipment updates from us via e-mail.  Please monitor your e-mail for correspondence from us after you place an order.  Should questions arise regarding your order, we will attempt to communicate via e-mail.  If we do not receive a reply after five business days, we will attempt to contact you via telephone.  If we are unable to reach you, your order may be suspended until contact is finally made.  If contact is not made after 10 business days, we will cancel your order.

We will never give out, rent, or sell your e-mail address.  See our privacy statement here.

Answer:  Sales tax is applied to orders, which are placed in South Carolina only.

Answer:  We currently do not extend credit to purchasers.  We accept Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express.  You may pay via our payment processing system, or use your PayPal or Google Checkout account.

Answer:  Shipping is calculated based on the weight of the products you purchase.  Once items are placed in your cart, their shipping charges will be automatically calculated and displayed.

Answer:  Any tube or rod, which exceeds 8 feet in length, must be shipped via freight carrier.  UPS will not accept packages more than 96 inches in length.

Answer:  Orders for in-stock items will be shipped within 3 business days.  Orders may ship same-day if placed before 2:00 P.M. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday.

Answer:  Though most orders leave our facility within 24 hours (except for weekends and holidays), some may take up to three days to fulfill.  We will update your order status as soon as tracking information becomes available.

As our office closes at 4:00 P.M. EST/EDT, shipments, which are picked up after 3:30 P.M., may not have tracking information available until the following business day.

Answer:  Please check your online order status, or the automated e-mail that was sent when your order was shipped.  There you will find tracking information.  Using that information, visit the web site of the carrier (we provide that information with all order status updates), and track your packages.  If the carrier's web site shows all packages delivered, please contact the carrier for more information.  We cannot provide this information.  You must deal with the carrier.

If you did not receive an order status update by e-mail, please contact us, and we will provide you with shipping and tracking information.

Answer:  If the shipping company has proof of delivery for your order, it will tell you the person's name, who signed for it, where it was signed for ("reception area", "front desk", etc.), along with the date and time of delivery.  See the person, who signed for the package.  If the delivery information is erroneous, you must contact the shipping company to resolve the issue.  If your package was delivered to the incorrect address, please contact us.

We are not liable for incorrect delivery addresses provided by customers.  If we made a mistake on the delivery address, we will replace your products.  Be absolutely certain that you provide the correct delivery address when you place your order.

Answer:  Please open and inspect your order upon receipt.  If you believe your order is incomplete, you must contact us in writing, no more than 30 calendar days after receipt of your order.  We will double-check our records of items pulled to fulfill your order.  If we determine that the correct number of items was sent with your original order, we will not send additional items.  Please e-mail us at sales@railing-designs.com.

Please note: We may have photographic evidence of the number of items pulled for any order, and may rely upon that evidence to determine whether or not items have been excluded from an order in error.  We will gladly share this evidence should the need arise.

Answer:  We may be able to offer a budget price by telephone, but cannot verbally offer a firm and final quote to anyone.  This is to protect our customers and ourselves from mistakes in material counts/pricing.  To receive a finalized materials take-off, pricing, and freight costs, you must e-mail us with exact dimensions, and information as to whether your railing will be mounted on a flat surface, or on a rake, such as stairs or a ramp.  All of these things affect cost, and must be accounted for in order to provide a firm quote.

You may also submit a sketch or photo of the area where the railing will be used.  Our trained eyes are much better able to see possible out-of-the-norm requirements for your railing system, that cannot be determined without visual representation.

We do not offer quotes for railing components, for which you already know the quantities.  All components' pricing is on our web site, and shipping may be determined by adding your components to our shopping cart, and entering your delivery zip code.  Please do not submit quote requests for known quantities of railing components.

Please send quote requests to quote@railing-designs.com.

Answer:  All current pricing is reflected on this web site.  We do not offer varied pricing for corporate or large-quantity orders at this time.  To determine shipping cost, please add your items to our shopping cart, and enter your zip code.  You will see shipping options, as well as the cost for each option.

Answer:  No.  The prices shown on our web site, reflect the price we extend to businesses, as well as individuals.  At this time, we also do not offer special pricing for the purchase of large quantities.

Answer:  Yes.  We will accept your measurements, and estimate how much railing you will need.  You may send your measurements via e-mail or fax, risk free, for a quote.  We will include all components necessary for your chosen railing design, based on the measurements you provide.  An estimate will be available within three business days of submission.  Please visit this page for contact information.

Answer:  We do not provide screws, bolts, or any mounting hardware required to connect your railing system to the structure it is being mounted to.  However, a few items in our store will come with some hardware.  If you have a question about a particular product, and/or the hardware required for a particular application, e-mail us for help.

Answer:  Please see this page for all available assembly videos.

Answer: 

• Our 1.9" O.D. ø, 13-gauge tubing tolerance is +/- 0.010".
• Our 1.5" O.D. ø, 18-gauge tubing tolerance is +/- 0.008".

Answer:  We recommend post spacing from 42" to 48".  We do not recommend post spacing greater than 48".

Answer:  As our railing systems are comprised of 304 stainless steel, they should not be used outdoors in areas close to the ocean.  We can only recommend use of 316 stainless steel in areas, which are within a few miles of salt water.  Our standard, 304 stainless steel railings may be used outdoors, where salt and other potential harmful airborne environmental contaminants are not a factor.  Please research what grade of stainless steel better suits your outdoor space.  We do not currently offer 316 stainless steel.

Answer:  Unfortunately, we do not provide installation assistance.  A local building contractor should be able to install your railing system.  If you, or your building contractor have a technical questions, click here to contact us.

Answer:  Yes, our products may be adapted to residential projects.  It is incumbent upon homeowners to educate themselves about local building codes, and whether the desired railing system will meet or exceed those codes.  Please see this page on our web site, and visit this page about OSHA's standards.

Answer:  There is no difference in these products.  They are exactly the same thing.  "Cut posts" are simply our "stainless tubing", which has been cut to a typical post height.  Our pre-cut posts/tubes may also be used as top cap and/or handrail.

Answer:  Please see this illustration.

Answer:  Need us to cut your tubing?  If so, add your size specifications to the "Ordering Instructions" box when checking out, and we will cut your material to size for a small fee.  Straight and mitered cuts are $5.00 each.  Please choose the number of cuts required when you check out.

Please note that our "Pre-Cut Railing Post/Tube" already include the cost of one cut ($5.00).  If you require additional cuts to our "pre-cut" material, select the number from the menu in our shopping cart.

Answer:  Stainless steel tubing should be cut at a slow rotational speed.  At Modular Handrail Designs, we use Kasto cold saws with carbide-tipped saw blades at 24 RPM.  If you are using an abrasive saw, please be aware that it will generate a lot of heat between the tubing and cutting blade.  The heat produced by this process will discolor the stainless tubing, and will require polishing.  The polishing can be done using a polishing pad and rouge compound.  In general, chop saws and compound miter saws operate at a lower RPM than miter saws.  The lower the RPM, the better the resulting cut.

Answer:  No.  We do not drill and tap.

Answer:  We do not offer drilling and tapping for attachment of components to posts.  However, we recommend the following drill bit sizes for post-mounted components.

For rod holders and post-mounted handrail brackets (1/4-20 flat-head screw), we recommend a #7 drill (0.201"); Glass clamps (5/16-18 socket screw), "F" size drill (0.257"); All bracket saddles for our handrail brackets and top rail brackets (10-24 button head), we recommend a #26 drill (0.147").

Click here for drill & tap size chart.

If you cannot find the proper sizes, get the closest diameter, which is smaller than the recommended size.

Answer:  No, currently we do not offer cable railings.  We recommend our horizontal rod railing system, which has a similar look to a cable rail system, in which 7/16" stainless rods create a sleek, modern design!

Answer:  No, we do not provide glass infill panels for our railing systems (nor for our canopy system).  It is incumbent upon the purchaser to arrange for purchase of glass infill panels before ordering the railing system, to allow for manufacturing time.  We do not recommend or endorse any glass companies.

Answer:  No.  Our railing products are offered in only a #8, mirror finish.  Our items are solid stainless steel, and may be re-polished to a different finish.  However we do not provide re-polishing services.

Answer:  We sell only 1.5"ø and 1.9"ø tubing, in the following standard lengths.

• Any Size up to 36"
• Any Size up to 48"
• 6 Feet
• 8 Feet
• 10 Feet
• 12 Feet
• 20 Feet

If your project requires custom lengths, we will cut your tubing to size for $5.00 per cut.  Please order your tubing the next size up from your requirements.  For example, if your project requires a 7-ft. handrail, you must order our 8-ft. tube, and specify that you would like for us to cut it to 7 feet.  You may note your material sizes in the "Ordering Instructions" box in our shopping cart.

Answer:  We are unable to answer this question.  Why?  Modular Handrail Designs, LLC is a railing components reseller.  We do not design, engineer, or install railing systems.  We simply provide our clients with the parts to build their own railing systems.  Engineering is based on many factors, such as railing height, post spacing, infill panel type, mounting hardware, mounting surface, and more.  It is incumbent upon you, the purchaser, to make sure the railing design you have planned for your home or business will indeed meet your specific state and/or local code requirements, as well as load requirements.

Click here for general information about state-by-state code adoption.

Answer:  No, we do not provide design services.  The railing systems you see on our web site are all that we offer.  We are not a turnkey service provider.

Answer:  No.  As we are a parts reseller, and are never involved in ordering infill panels, we cannot recommend a company, who can provide your glass or stainless infill panels.  We sell to all 50 United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and cannot determine where, or with whom you should order your infill panels.

Answer:  Our one and only location is in Fort Mill, South Carolina.  We ship every order from this facility, and do not have product representatives, nor shipping facilities outside of this location.

Answer:  Unfortunately, we are unable to provide product samples free of charge.  Click here to order a sample tubing or 7/16" solid rod section.