Every strength figure on this page is our own engineering calculation. We hold no ICC-ES evaluation report, no Intertek CCRR and no third-party test. Where our own numbers say we do not pass, this page says so. Your building official has the final say.
The route for a guard system is ICC-ES AC273 — the acceptance criteria an evaluation report is written against. Intertek's CCRR route tests to the same building-code loads. Three tests run on one specimen: two posts at maximum spacing, with every component including the base connection. Each load is held for one minute.
| Test | Load | Applied where | Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-fill | 125 lbf 2.5 × the 50 lb code load | Over 1 ft² of the infill | No failure, no disengagement, no visible cracks |
| Uniform | 125 lbf/ft | Vertically and outward at 45° | As above. Skipped for residential-only recognition |
| Concentrated | 500 lbf 2.5 × the 200 lb code load | Twice: midspan of the top rail, and the top of a single post | As above. Deflection recorded at 200 lbf: post h/12, rail h/24 + l/96 |
It is a physical test, not a calculation, and it does not forbid the steel yielding. It forbids failure. That distinction decides everything below: a material with a wide gap between bending and breaking is forgiving, and one without is not. Q235 steel has 57% of reserve past yield. 6061-T6 aluminium has 8%.
Ratios are our calculated capacity against the 500 lbf demand at the post top. Above 1.00 means the post carries it.
| Line | Post | 36″ | 42″ | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProGuard | 50 × 50 × 2.7 mm Q235 | 1.05 | 0.90 | Passes at 36″. At 42″ it forms a plastic hinge below the proof load |
| CoastLine | 50 × 50 × 2.7 mm 6061-T6 | 1.07 | 0.92 | Knife-edge at 36″, and the welded base is the real limit — see below |
| EdgeLine | 40 × 40 × 1.35 mm | 0.35 | — | Decorative, 36″ ground level only. We do not rate it for fall protection and we do not sell it for a balcony |
On an aluminium post the base plate is welded, and the greatest bending is exactly at that weld. Welding 6061-T6 costs roughly half its strength in the zone beside the weld. On that basis CoastLine's base is its governing limit, not its wall. Makers who pass this test solve it three ways: a thicker wall (Viewrail, 3.81 mm), mechanical screws backing the weld (Westbury), or a heavy plate with a continuous fillet (Trex). Our published specification is changing to match, and until it does we do not claim a pass.
Certification is not a marketing word — a report has a number, a scope and an expiry.
| Maker | Report | What it actually covers |
|---|---|---|
| Fortress | CCRR-0248 | Cable, commercial use groups, 93.5″ at 42″ — on a 2″ steel post with a 2.5 mm wall |
| Feeney | CCRR-0570 | 36″ at 6 ft residential; 42″ at 5 ft commercial. Heavy-duty post required for horizontal cable end posts |
| Westbury | CCRR-0530 | Commercial and Florida high-velocity hurricane zone. Stainless shim plates mandatory under every base |
| Viewrail | ESR-4798 | Residential only. 48″ post spacing for cable. Must be labelled one- and two-family dwellings only |
| Trex | CCRR-0202 | 96″ at 42″ residential; commercial only where the supporting structure is separately engineered |
| VEVOR · Muzata · Gyykzz · CKE | None | No report, and in several cases the listing contradicts itself on grade or wall |
| CR Fence & Rail | None yet | Calculated only. This page is the honest version of that |
Note what nobody holds: not one certificate in this field covers a commercial cable span at 42″ beyond 5 ft, and the most-cited residential report is explicitly limited to houses. A seller claiming "code compliant" without a number is claiming nothing.
| Post | Wall | Base plate | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CR ProGuard | 2″ square | 2.7 mm | 10 mm | none yet |
| Fortress cable post | 2″ square | 2.5 mm | 6 mm | CCRR-0248 |
| Viewrail certified post | 2″ square | 3.81 mm | — | ESR-4798 |
| Zylorix Marine (316) | 2″ square | 1.35 mm | 6 mm | none |
| Gyykzz | 2″ square | 1.0 mm | — | none |
Our wall is twice the thinnest post sold on the same shelf and our base plate is the heaviest in that group. It is still less than the one post in the field that has passed the test.
We would rather tell you what we have not done than imply we have done it.