Railing up - 100% safer if not finished

Well the railing is now structurally complete, although we still have some work to do to finish it. We'll be doing lots of sanding, and either some varnishing, or some staining, yet to be decided. We also need to finish the stairs themselves, as they are still the plywood ones that have been there for over a year now (crazy!)

Doesn't the railing look nice? Our massive black stovepipe doesn't look nearly so massive or black with a backdrop like this! We went with exterior deck railing because it was black, kind of cool looking, and 'economical'. Much cheaper than wrought iron!