Grab Railing - Stair Building Handrails
A grab railing bar provides people who walked up and down a set of stairs with something to hold onto. They usually reduce the risk of accidents, for people who actually use them. The older I get, the more safety conscious I become.
They're firmly attached to the stairway and sometimes
double as a safety guard rail. (See picture above) There are a variety
of rules and regulations that have been established over the years, to
create safer buildings.
It wasn't uncommon to find a set of stairs and was built 50 years ago,
like the one shown in the picture above, without any type of handrail.
It's hard to imagine, but people have actually died from falling down on
level ground, let alone falling off a small stairway.
I don't know how many people have been injured over the years, from
falling off of a small stairway that didn't have a grab railing bar to
hold onto. But it makes good sense, even if they only prevent one injury
especially if it included someone you knew.
The words grab railing, handrailing, railing and stair railing are all
used by construction professionals today and often refer to the same
thing. To avoid confusion, you should learn as many of these words as
you possibly can, especially if you're going to continue to work in the
construction industry.
One of the reasons why I built this stair construction glossary, was to
provide contractors, construction workers, engineers, architects,
handymen and even do-it-yourselfers with the definitions of some of the
most interesting words used, in construction today.
Stairs / Stair Glossary
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