I‘d like to create a rail for my small deck out of copper plumbing pipe. Is there any reason I shouldn‘t do that? Will it hold up ok? I assume it will since it‘s meant to carry water so obviously it won‘t rust, but is there any other reason I shouldn‘t use it? I am planning to cap it on the ends so bees won‘t nest in it, etc. Any other considerations I should think about? Thank you.
The only drawback I see is that copper is a soft metal, and the first time someone stumbles into it, or someone heavy tries to slide down the rail it will bend. And it won't be too many instances of it bending before it kinks. Then all your hard work is down the drain.
Safety dictates the diameter of the railing. It should be at least 1-1/4 diameter. The price will be prohibitive. It won't rust, but it will turn color after a short time.
Len B has the best answer. You need to run a wire (the same size as the neutral and hot) preferably green from the panel ground/neutral bar. You can also tap off of another outlet or box that is close by that has a ground in it already. The exsisting ground wire must be the same size or bigger then the wire you need for the outlet. If your outlets in your basement are in metal pipe and in a metal box, you can take a wire from the back of the box to the outlet using a green ground screw. BUT only if the pipe extends back to the panel box or another grounded junction box. Not advisable to use the water pipe however if you are sure the pipe will never be disconnected or changed to plastic and the pipe is bonded(grounded) to the panel ground it will work. But I advise upgrading the wiring on the home. DO NOT drive a seperate ground rod for the outlets. The ground must have a path back to the neutral bar in the main panel.
