I have a slightly unusual one here. I am to replace a landing outside a door with an exact duplicate (with better materials). The view in the pic is facing the door, which is centered w/RH sidelite. The upper section is 6′ wide and each step is 1′. Each riser is 6″. The framework will be 2×12 PT notched at each end for the lower treads in the shape shown. The whole thing basically just sits there… on a couple of 4x PT sleepers laid in gravel flush with grade.
The lady of the house wants a graspable handrail. I do not want to bury posts for this, and I don’t like trying to make 1-5/8″ fir dowel into handrail anyway. Outside it will just degrade too quickly, and the need to make the ends ‘closed’ really steers me towards a fabbed steel rail using 1-1/2″ tube. I can simply bolt the bottoms of the posts to the side of the landing and be done, and it will be sturdy.
Question is about the shape. The pic shows a couple of possibilities. How would you configure this? Got any cool ideas, or things you’ve seen? If not steel, what would you make it from? It needs to look good, and hopefully not too much like the railings at a football stadium.
Another option might be some sort of metal railing parts system. I know there’s stuff out there. What have you used?
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In my neck of the woods aluminum is king. We have many boat builders and fabricators to supply the fishing indusdry. I would have it fabricated in there shop and install it on site. Once it is in, it is 100% maintaience free. A good fab shop can make any design you can dream up.
If it were steel I would have it fabbed--I'm not a metal shop. I could get AL but the person doing that is slower and more expensive. Question is, what would you design for this?
David, I've got a similar situation coming up where I'm going to have the 1 1/2" pipe railing bend down and mount to a flange on the bottom tread. Minimalist, no seperate welds, just bends.
I don't know if that satisfies the IRC. I believe you have to come past the nosing of the bottom tread with the rail. I'll go get my '03 book and read up.
For residential you have to come TO the bottom riser and TO the top riser. For commercial it's 6 inches past, used to be 12" past top and bottom.
You might be right... although I think the local inspector wants the rail out past the first nosing.
I was paraphrasing from IRC2003 but your AHJ might have his own ideas....
I needed one this summer for an elderly customer. It was a large project and she plans to redo this porch soon so she wanted something quick and inexpensive, but she's old and arthritic and also needs a railing to steady herself even on these small steps.
So one day I decided to give 1" copper a try. Probably cost 150.00 labor and materials. Of course, it's not 1.25 like you'd need to meet code if there was one more tread. But there isn't. And 1" diameter fits her hand beautifully.
Kind of funky, I know. But I like it. And you might be surprised how many people I used to catch touching it with a kind of wistfull smile. Often one spouse will say to the other "honey, did you see this?" Kind of cool, really.
The Cool part is the well-known benefits of copper for arthiritc people...
every time she goes up or down the stair it is therapeutic!!!
You are a GENIUS Jim!!!
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David, I'd check with the inspections dept. We're under the IRC, and I've done plenty of stairs without railings over the 1st or 2nd tread.My own handrail starts on the 3rd tread, but it was built under the CABO code."All required handrails shall be continuous the full length of the four or more risers from a point directly above the top riser of a flight to a point directly above the lowest riser of the flight."IIRC, you've got two risers to a landing, around here, that's a flight, andif it's under 30", doesn't need a handrail at all. "I am the master of low expectations." Georgie Boy, aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003
Our local building department interprets the IRC to say that if have three risers or less you don't need a handrail. Four risers, handrail.
And if you put one where it's not required it doesn't have to meet code.
Yep, we used to go with the three risers or 30" rule...I just noticed that 4 riser thing in the IRC 2002 addenda...thing is, whenever we've had a handrail issue where practicality and code clashed, the BIs have always been accomodating...think it's my charming personality?<G> "I am the master of low expectations." Georgie Boy, aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003
"...think it's my charming personality?"
Yeah, it could be. Or it might be they just want to beat the lunch crowd at Denny's.
Hey, by the way, you been mighty scarce around here lately. You seeing somebody new?
Hey, by the way, you been mighty scarce around here lately. You seeing somebody new?Netflix and a new pillow<G> "I am the master of low expectations." Georgie Boy, aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003
You are right concerning the IRC '03 and the handrail requirement starting with 4 risers. That's R311.5.6. A couple of paragraphs down is the requirement that that railing start and end above the first and last riser.
My brain is stuck on my CodeCheck, which references IRC '00 315.1, where the requirement is 2 risers.
The little job I'll be doing does not require a permit. The rail is strictly the owner's request, and they definitely need the most accessible and usable rail I can figure out. It's an odd spot and I'm mostly trying to make it non-ugly.