Monarch Custom Doors forges custom wrought iron balcony railings to your exact opening, in Juliet, straight-run, bowed, and curved configurations. Every railing is fabricated to the guard dimensions your project requires, then finished in a rust-resistant powder coat and shipped nationwide across the US and Canada.
Balcony railings are not decoration. They are a structural guard, and building codes regulate their height, their opening sizes, and the load they must resist. We build to the dimensions your plans and local inspector call for.
Our catalog runs from heavily ornamented to minimal. Mediterranean and Roman Style railings carry the geometry you would expect on Spanish Colonial and revival architecture. Renaissance and Panel Scrollwork designs suit traditional and estate exteriors.
For contemporary homes, Simple Juliet and Bold Design railings use clean vertical bars with no scrollwork at all. Round Style, Classic Bowed, and Bay Window railings are built on a curve, which is difficult to source off the shelf and is where custom fabrication earns its keep.
Send us your measurements and we will quote it. Send us a design of your own, whether it is a CAD file or a sketch on a napkin, and we will work from that instead. Width, projection depth, bar spacing, and finish are all specified per project.
For design or quote questions, call 888-799-4755 or email contactus@monarchcustomdoors.com.
Also building out the rest of the exterior? See our wrought iron doors, wrought iron gates, and staircase and patio railings.
Also looking to customize your home with wrought iron doors, hand‑crafted wood doors, and home theater doors and more!
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A balcony railing is what the building code calls a guard. Under the International Residential Code, a guard is required wherever a walking surface sits more than 30 inches above the floor or grade below. Once that trigger is met, three separate requirements apply: height, opening size, and load resistance.
Codes are adopted and amended locally, so your jurisdiction sets the final numbers. The figures below are the model code baseline that most US jurisdictions start from.
| Requirement | Residential (IRC) | Commercial (IBC) |
|---|---|---|
| Guard required when drop exceeds | 30 inches | 30 inches |
| Minimum guard height | 36 inches | 42 inches in most occupancies |
| Maximum opening size | No 4-inch sphere may pass | No 4-inch sphere may pass |
| Concentrated load on top rail | 200 lb, any direction | 200 lb, any direction |
| Infill and baluster load | 50 lb over 1 sq ft | 50 lb over 1 sq ft |
The IRC sets a minimum guard height of 36 inches, measured vertically from the walking surface to the top of the guard. Commercial projects under the IBC generally require 42 inches.
Here is the part that catches people out: a number of states and municipalities amend the residential minimum up to 42 inches. Building taller than the minimum is never a violation, so when a project sits near a jurisdictional boundary or the code cycle is mid-adoption, 42 inches is the safe specification. You can read the model text directly in the International Code Council's published guard height section.
No opening anywhere in the guard may allow a 4-inch sphere to pass through. This is the child-safety provision, and it applies to the whole assembly, not just the gaps between balusters.
That last point is the most commonly failed item on inspection. The gap between the walking surface and the bottom rail counts as an opening. Leaving five inches at the base for drainage or debris clearance will fail, even though the balusters themselves are spaced correctly.
The top rail must resist a 200 pound concentrated load applied at any point and in any direction. Infill components, meaning the balusters and panels, must resist 50 pounds applied over a one square foot area.
Most railing failures are not failures of the railing itself. They are failures of the connection between the railing and the structure. The anchor detail, the substrate it lands in, and the fastener schedule matter as much as the ironwork, which is why mounting method is a design decision and not an afterthought.
These two products look similar in a catalog photo and behave completely differently in a set of plans. A Juliet balcony (also called a balconet or French balcony) sits flush against the building in front of a full-height window or door. There is no floor to stand on. A walkable balcony railing guards an actual projecting deck or floor surface.
| Juliet Balcony Railing | Walkable Balcony Railing | |
|---|---|---|
| Floor surface | None, or shallow projection only | Full walkable deck or slab |
| Mounts to | Wall face or window opening jamb | Deck surface, fascia, or slab edge |
| Typical use | Upper-floor French doors, tall windows, curb appeal | Usable outdoor space off a bedroom or living area |
| Structural work needed | Wall anchorage only | Framed or cantilevered floor structure |
| Our designs | Renaissance Juliet, Simple Juliet, Curved Juliet | Mediterranean, Roman Style, Bowed, Bay Window |
For a plain-language definition of the Juliet balcony as an architectural feature, see our gates and railings overview.
Mounting method determines how load transfers into the building, and it is usually decided by what you are attaching to rather than by preference.
Tell us which condition you are working with when you request a quote and we will fabricate the anchor detail to match. Retrofits onto existing structures are common; older balconies frequently need a railing replaced precisely because the original no longer meets current height or spacing requirements.
Infill is everything between the top and bottom rails, and it carries most of the visual weight of the design.
All ironwork is finished in a rust-resistant powder coat. Browse available finishes on our metal color options page.
Residential balcony railings must be at least 36 inches tall under the International Residential Code, measured from the walking surface to the top of the guard. Commercial projects under the IBC generally require 42 inches. Many jurisdictions amend the residential minimum up to 42 inches, so confirm the required height with your local building department before fabrication.
Model code requires the top rail to resist a 200 pound concentrated load applied at any point and in any direction. Balusters and infill panels must resist 50 pounds applied over a one square foot area. In practice, the connection between the railing and the building structure governs performance more than the railing itself.
No opening in a balcony guard may allow a 4-inch sphere to pass through. This applies to the entire assembly, including the gap between the walking surface and the bottom rail. A bottom rail left five inches off the deck for drainage will fail inspection even when baluster spacing is correct.
There are four common methods. Surface mount bolts base plates to the deck or slab. Fascia mount brackets to the vertical rim joist or slab edge. Core-drilling sets posts into grouted pockets in concrete. Juliet balconies anchor directly into the wall on either side of a window or door opening.
Yes. Curved and bowed balcony railings are a core part of what custom fabrication solves, since stock railings are almost always straight. Our Round Style, Classic Bowed, Decorative Bowed, and Bay Window designs are all built on a curve, and radius and projection depth are set per project.
Most jurisdictions require a permit to install or replace a guard, since it is a life-safety element. Replacement is also the point at which an older railing has to be brought up to current height and spacing requirements rather than matched to the original. Check with your local building department before ordering.
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