Stair Handrailing Or Guard Rail
By Greg Vanden Berge
Before the 1980s most stairways had a handrail and to this day, most
stair handrails are not considered guard rails. Well things have changed
and now most stairways require a guard rail and it gripable handrail.
What's the difference between a stair handrailing and a stair guard
rail, quite frankly about 6 inches. Your stair guard rails have a
minimum requirement of 42 inches where stair handrails built before the
1980s had a handrailing for protection with a minimum requirement of 36
inches.
This does not mean that older stair handrails that are 36 inches tall
will need to be removed and replaced, because the new
building codes
have changed. If you were to rebuild the stair handrail or do any work
on the stairway that required a building permit, they could have you
change your stair handrailing to meet current building codes.
I was helping another guy frame a new house in 2005 and while I was on
the job I would mention to the owner, certain concerns of mine with
other parts of the job. After a while he realized, that I knew what I'll
was talking about and started to pay attention when ever I mentioned
anything related to home building.
He asked me if I would be interested in building the stair handrailing
system and at the time I was too busy. I reminded him of the minimum
requirements for the stair guard rail, it was no longer referred to as a
stair handrail and would need to be at least 42 inches in height and
include a gripable handrail.
Well as you guessed it, the next time I walked into the home, I noticed
a 36 inch high stair handrail. I reminded him and he wasn't too
concerned, because he hired someone that knew all about building stair
handrails.
The building inspector made him remove and replace the stair handrail,
before he would approve the home for final inspection.
Always check with your local building department, whether you're reading
articles like this or asking questions to experienced contractors.
Everybody makes mistakes and sometimes their information is out of date,
according to new home building practices or building codes.
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