I think the minimum rail height is something covered by your local building code, depending on the distance you stand to fall from the deck. If its more than a foot or two you may have no choice but to have an eye level rail

You realise there is supposed to be some insulation in the walls right

my inlaws had one on their place in Montreal. They lived in the house for 10 years and had it installed shortly after arriving, so it must have done 8 or 9 seasons with no problems at all. Mind you, they were very careful to always wind it in if it got very blustery, and only on the calmest of calm days did they unwind it all the way out to the fullest extent, but it certainly made it a lot more comfortable to sit on the patio, and also helped prevent the glass sliding doors from acting like a greenhouse.

In Calgary (where Rose is) if any part of the deck is more than 24" above grade then a railing is required. Said railing can have nothing that would aid in climbing (i.e. nothing horizontal or close to horizontal) between 4" and 36" above the deck floor.

Here its a sliding scale of sorts.. if its more than 4(?) feet to ground or something then you need the higher railing than if its only 2 feet.... I dont know the exact numbers, but you get the idea...otherwise we would have a lower railing and I would enjoy the view more.

We had a deck built last year. We have a walk-out basement and there was no deck when we moved in which left us with a "door of death" off our main level. We're not really big DIYers so got a guy in to do it. Really pleased with the job. As we were starting from scratch, decided to go for a low maintenance deck. We had glass sidings and a Duradeck flooring - all it ever needs is a quick wipe down - no need for painting/staining etc.

Thanks for the replies so far folks .... more pictures!!!

Thornes, what sort of cost was yours? We've priced the glass panel surrounds; they are between $36-39 per linear foot, so about $1800 for a deck the size we are contemplating! I'd like them though ....
I wouldn't mind composite decking, but hubby is set on cedar wood, I think ... he likes staining .....

Cookie, I love your deck! (I think I said so when you originally posted it!)
One consideration is steps to the garden; we have "house cats", and they like to be able to go out and sit on the deck ... we are unsure about giving them access to the garden but I think if we have a big enough deck surface at the main level we won't need to access the garden from the deck. I expect if you had young kids living here it might be more important, but I guess they can be added later ....

we're currently getting our 30ish year old deck and steps (which you could bounce on and no railings in sight at all!) removed and replaced.

due to the amount of deck (and front steps), we are going for pressure treated limber, and got somebody in to do it. I know for smaller jobs, most people around here do it themselves (or with a little bit of help!).

here is a pic of how it stands at the moment - i can provide update over the next couple of weeks!

I think that if ours were a low-level raised or ground level deck we'd not hesitate to leap in there .... its the 9 foot height that's a bit daunting; that and taking off siding to attach the deck to the house.

I've been watching vids on youtube though .... it don't look TOO difficult!

Here are a few pics for you....

What we inherited when we purchased the property, through to completion:

2 refurbished deck areas (new cedar planking, railing and staircases), plus an additional deck, staircase and fly-screened gazebo.

A few more....

Ah thanks RICH .... the second deck with the gazebo is interesting ... what type of footers are those??

A couple of pics of our deck for you (sorry they're the best I've got)

6" deep cement pads to level the ground with 10"x10" cement blocks to hold the 4"x4" uprights (treated posts).

Whatever you do DONT STAIN CEDAR.

If you pay the premium for Cedar, then just let it age naturally, staining may actually shorten it lifespan.