Asked by: Dominika Ovosky
home and garden indoor environmental quality

What height should a railing be?

Last Updated: 15th June, 2020

34
Handrails should be no less than 34 inches above the stair or ramp and no more than 38 inches above. If you are working with alternating tread devices or ship ladders, you should measure above the tread nosings. The handrail should be between 30-34 inches above.

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Simply so, what height should a stair railing be?

Proper Height A stair rail must be between 34 and 38 inches above the top of the stair tread at all times to meet United States building code requirements. It should also extend a foot before and after the stairs, for added safety.

Similarly, what is the standard height of indoor stair railing? Measure railing height from the bottom of the ground at each step to the top of where the handrail will be located. U.S. codes require railings against a wall to be between 30 inches and 38 inches high, while handrails on open stairs must be 34 to 38 inches high.

Also asked, what is the code for railing height?

The National Building Code sets the height of a handrail between 86.5 cm (34 in.) and 96.5 cm (38 in.). If guardrails are required to make a stair landing safe, the handrails can have a maximum height of 107 cm (42 in.).

What is the standard height of a balcony railing?

Height Requirements. The International Residential Code requires balcony railings to be 36 inches high for homes. For business or fencing use, the railings should be 42 or 48 inches. Each community has different height requirements to determine if the porch or balcony requires railings.

Related Question Answers

Peligros Salvoch

Professional

What is the difference between a handrail and a stair rail?

Handrails are rails that provide a handhold for support. Height: Minimum handrail height is 30 inches. Strength: Handrails must withstand, without failure, a force of at least 200 pounds applied in any downward or outward direction within two inches of any point along the top edge of the rail.

Sever Dielen

Professional

Which side should handrail be on stairs?

Both sides are better and safer too for installing stair railings. There are no standard rules. But mostly It is suggested on the right hand side as you go down the stairs. Very few stairwells are full walled on both sides, so the wall-mount rail is usually same side as the banister rail.

Boukhayar Lenski

Professional

What is the code for stair railings?

In the U.S., the I-Codes require handrail placed between 34 and 38 inches. In commercial applications, the NBC permits the top or a guard (42″ minimum height) to also serve as handrail. In the U.S., once a stair has a 30″ drop, a guard (42″ minimum) and a handrail (34″ to 38″) would both be required.

Jasmina Robertso

Explainer

How many steps can you take without a handrail?

To get to your question - the code doesn't refer to the exterior in steps but states from finished floor or platform to finished grade in excess of 30" requires a guard rail. It's with interior they mention any stairway with more than 3 risers (2 steps) will require a handrail.

Bilale Sherman

Explainer

How tall should a newel post be?

Typically floor level balustrades must be at least 36” high or 42” high, depending on local codes and stair guardrails must be between 34” and 38”.

Romuald Thakur

Explainer

How far apart should handrail brackets be?

Determine how many brackets you need. You need one at the top and one at the bottom. You also need additional brackets, spaced no more than 4 feet apart in the middle of the handrail to provide additional support.

Fala Timney

Pundit

What is code for stairs?

Stair riser heights shall be 7 inches (178 mm) maximum and 4 inches (102 mm) minimum. Stair tread depths shall be 11 inches (279 mm) minimum. The riser height shall be measured vertically between the leading edges of adjacent treads.

Jacquetta Egia

Pundit

What is the standard height for a porch railing?

Porch Railing Installation
Basically, railing height must be at least a minimum of 36 inches from the floor of your porch floor. If your porch or deck is above a certain distance from the ground (over 9 feet for example) you may be required to install 42 inch balusters or longer.

Leisa Cueli

Pundit

How high should a railing post be?

Cut the Posts
Installing deck railing is easy if you use an anchored handrail system. Standard rail height is 36 to 42 inches; posts will need to be 10 inches longer.

Anay Quaglietta

Pundit

How high should balusters be?

Balusters, the vertical guards that support the handrail, must be installed close enough that the space between them is no greater than 4 inches. Most city inspectors carry a 4-inch ball with them to test the spacing.

Natale Konkipudi

Pundit

What is the maximum height of a deck without railing?

Commercial deck guards, such as those found at restaurants, bars, and at multifamily homes such as apartments or condos, are required to be 42 inches high, minimum. When Is Deck Railing Not Needed? Some decks are not required to have guardrails, as long as those decks are 30 inches above grade or lower.

Xena Andrejska

Teacher

What is code for deck post spacing?

In general, posts should be spaced no more than 8 feet apart. Some builders position them every 4 feet for a completely rigid frame. The maximum distance between footings is determined by the size of your joist material.

Soufiane Cisternas

Teacher

What is code for railing height?

The IRC requires guardrails to be at least 36" in height, measured from the deck surface to the top of the rail. Commercial decks attached to multi-family buildings, such as apartment buildings or businesses, are regulated under the International Building Code (IBC). The IBC requires 42" high guardrails.

Buffy Adashevsky

Reviewer

How high does a balcony railing have to be?

For internal railings or balustrades that are inside a single family dwelling the height required is 0.9m from "datum" (“datum” is defined as the height or point you can stand on) to the top of the handrail. For external balcony or terrace areas the required height is 1.1m from datum to the top of handrail.

Myroslava Vakulovski

Reviewer

What is the legal height for balustrade?

The height of a Balustrade or Barrier must not be less than:
1m above the floor of any access path, balcony, landing where it is not bounded by a wall and its level above the surface is 1m or more than 4m where a person is able to fall through an open window.

Ellis Dyck

Reviewer

How high should a loft railing be?

Go from there to the height of your rail—usually 37 inches for residential applications—which allows one inch for carpet and pad, and puts your rail height at 36 inches. A 10-inch miter saw was used to carefully extend the horizontal shoulder cuts down to the vertical tenon cuts.

Lot Marçoo

Reviewer

What height should banister be?

In all buildings, handrail heights should be between 900mm and 1000mm measured from the pitch line to the top of the handrail.

Odilio Abrante

Supporter

What is the maximum gap between spindles?

The building regulations state that a 100mm sphere cannot pass through any opening and this includes between spindles. So your maximum space between spindles is 99mm.

Vinnie Bibin

Supporter

Can balusters be horizontal?

There is nothing that prohibits 2x6s from being used as balusters in a horizontal rather than a vertical orientation. You will end up with a railing that resembles a classic farm yard perimeter fence. You may be familiar with that look.

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EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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15th June, 2020

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