any builders out there? Roofers

My homeowners insurance came by to do a house inspection. They canceled my policy do to my house being out of code. My deck did not have a railing and the stairs did not have a handrail on both sides. So I am installing a railing and I need to know how far apart to put the balusters? Is there a height regulation on the railing?

I tore the railing off the deck on account of it blocking my view. I did not install big picture windows to look at the railing on a deck. I am thinking of webbing 1/8" SS wiring as I happen to have a roll of it. I also stack firewood on the deck edge in the winter, it makes it easier to retrieve to put in wood stove. I wonder if I can use the firewood as a rail for one section. this deck is 36' long and 24' wide so I have many segments to work with.

I lost about a dozen shingles during the storms, (Irene and Isabel) I went up and black jacked the one little gap that was exposed when the tab blew off. I have never had a roof leak, but the roof is 18 years old and it is a 20 year roof. Maybe better to just re-roof the entire house. I used the 20 year 3 tab shingle on account of a show I watched on hurricanes and roofing materials. The number one best roof to survive a hurricane was the 20 year three tab shingle. The worst roofing material was clay tile. I thought the exact opposite, but it has more to do with the thickness of the edge of the material than anything else. 30 year shingles are thicker so they blow off easier.

Maximum space between ballisters is 4" according to residential code. The problems we've seen with shingle roofs is how there are nailed is the biggest problem.
either not having the proper number of nails, six required on three tab shingles, nailed in the wrong locations, either too high or low, the bundles show the proper location and the biggest problem recently is improper adjust of air pressure with power nailers causing over tears in the shingles. We also are recommending sealing down the last row of shingles with a construction adhesive.