Handrail height

[Don1357]

My garage is almost finished! I have a 2 story building, first floor 10' walls, second floor 4' knee wall with an open 10/12 roof pitch. Lots of space up there. 1/3rd of the second floor is open to the bay bellow where I plan on putting a 4 post lift.

As of right now there is no hand rail on the second floor stopping anybody (or doggy) from falling to their doom. I'm trying to determine the proper height I need to build them at. I see the international residential code saying that handrails on a porch should be 36" tall. I also see the International building code requiring 42" on some businesses and multi family buildings. Would 36" be enough?

Before somebody points me to ask a code inspector please note that they don't work here like in the lower 48... (I'm in Alaska). Outside of the city limits there is not much of a residential code enforcement. builders do stick with the IRC because it makes sense but most of the code enforcement is focused on commercial, wet/protected land, setbacks, and the like. This may make a nice topic for another discussion as the entire slab, building, and everything else needed to make it a home away from home was done without permits, plans, or inspections. People that want a more civilized approach to life do so via HOA covenants.

 

[dfiler2]

36" is a decent height for a railing, if there is a window in the stairwell go 42" as that is more comfortable to lean on. It would also depend on what the space is used for, if it's a party room go 42" for safety.

 

[Don1357]

Woodworking shop. It will be an area full of your usual dangerous woodworking machines, nobody should be meandering there without me around.

 

[Ralf11]

check your code - it is based on safety analyses

newest item here is the ends have to be tied into the wall (house interior) - makes sense as it prevents you from snagging a coat, etc. on it

 

[nadogail]

The hand rail should be high enough so you don't have to reach down to it, or up to grab it.

 

[Chris705]

You are referring to a guard rail.... for safety and to potentially prevent someone from trying to sit on it put the top at 42”.... at least that is what I’d do.

 

[readhead]

Code for residential guardrails is 36”. Grabrail on the stairs should be 34”-38” above the nose line on one side. Some people prefer a taller guardrail.

 

[driftpin]

Another consideration is that the handrail has to continue on the same side as it starts. If you have a landing, the railing needs to continue on the same side, and above that, to the stair's termination.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

3ft everywhere here. Garage I just made it extra strong.

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[Don1357]

Sorry, guard rails, not hand rails. See attached.

The shop is 24x36, second floor is 24x24 with the end open to the floor below. The support posts will be bolted to the side of the floor joist, it would take some effort to rip those out.

 

[readhead]

You might consider a gate or removable section to load or unload items onto the floor.

 

[Don1357]

You might consider a gate or removable section to load or unload items onto the floor.

That's pretty much a given. The support posts are going to be bolted down but a section of rails will be removable. It has a wide section of stairs going up, I don't see myself needing that unless we are talking about a 20' canoe or the like.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

Plumbing pipe, flanges. Heavy Chain, two strands? One strong post in center (6"x6"), then it would be just 12ft to either end.

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[Don1357]

The way the floor trusses run there are four nice spots to bolt the support posts. That means 4x4 posts with 4' span in between, with one 4' section removable. If I were to build anything wider than that I would put it together on the bottom floor.

 

[mike93lx]

At 6'5" tall, 36" guardrails feel too short for me. I build to 42"

 

[WNYflyer]

Another tall guy, for that amount of possible drop if it was mine I would be doing 42" to top of guardrail per commercial/industrial standards. 36" is lower that my hip joints so feels too low and dangerous to me also.

 

[gfd_703]

I would wall off the entire end and contain the dust to the wood shop. Even have a separate heat and air system for controlling the moisture. At the very least frame up a half wall with a removable section across that end. This way no one including pets could fall or climb over the wall and it would give you additional wall space for equipment.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I did 42" on all mine. It just feels better when looking over the edge. I'm fairly tall, so I can press my thighs against a 36" railing, and bend right over it to touch my knees. Not a good feeling 16' off the ground.

 

[strutaeng]

42" for guardrails.

I just finished a guardrail on a project of mine. Mine ties into handrails and made of metal.

Attachment is also important. The code says it needs to withstand 200 lb point load or 50 lb/ft, whichever is greater. Making it out of wood would be challenging if attached to floor, to prevent it from rotating. I did attachment to the side and edge beam has deck tension ties on the top and bottom connecting to joists. It's very sturdy.

 

[jake28]

I’m just so happy for you that you don’t need permits or inspections

 

[tinmanwpk]

Osha 42"

 

[readhead]

OSHA has no input on residential guardrails.

 

[mike93lx]

OSHA has no input on residential guardrails.

Of course not. But that doesn't mean it isn't a good reference

 

[tinmanwpk]

We've been installing handrails for over 37 years now commercially for Fortune 500 companies. Our standard handrail is 42"high. Obviously this is a residential application and OSHA is not a factor and the OP can do as he pleases. Why not follow the 'standard of the industry'?

 

[Blickus]

BOCA codes, or Alaska’s version:

https://www.muni.org/departments/ocpd/development-services/codes-handouts/pages/codes.aspx

It’s in there somewhere, as with any code document, will need to do some digging.

 

[Don1357]

BOCA codes, or Alaska’s version:

https://www.muni.org/departments/ocpd/development-services/codes-handouts/pages/codes.aspx

It’s in there somewhere, as with any code document, will need to do some digging.

Those are municipality of anchorage, not Alaska as a whole. Funny story; I was at lowes looking for some stuff to run electric wiring. The dude asks me if my house is on Anchorage. When I say no he says "If you were in Anchorage you would have to use this stuff. Because that's not the case you can use all this other stuff that would work fine and be a lot cheaper". I still rather follow code but I found it funny how willing he was to point out the 'works fine' solution.

I'm posting because I honestly want to find out what makes the most sense. I was leaning towards the 42 but then I'm looking at my porch (that has one end 9 feet off the ground) and the 36 1/2" rails never made me feel like anybody was about to go overboard, and I entertain there, adults, kids, and dogs alike. I think that what I'll do is to split the difference and do 39". It meets residential code and gives me a bit more margin of error.

 

[Don1357]

I’m just so happy for you that you don’t need permits or inspections

Ages ago I did a workshop in Maryland, that was a nightmare. Every trip to the code inspector popped up some random thing. They made me pour twelve 24" sonotube footings to support a 24 x 36 wood building. I did the math on what my soil would support and that was overkill enough to support a two story cement structure. On top of that I needed permits and doing the whole process for two offices, county AND city.

Not being bound by permits and inspections on residential stuff is a super power but as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. I don't want to be one of those that end up burning their place down because of something stupid.

 

[strutaeng]

Here's the one on my project.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Our building code and the compensation board both require 42".

 

[Jeff Ivers]

How high above the second floor do those side walls extend before they intersect the rafters? Have you considered building a wall to that height (if 36" or more) all the way across?

 

[Don1357]

It would be the same height as railing so from a safety standpoint it would be the same. Personally I prefer the railing for a more open space feel.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

I fabricated this years ago, my garage they used 6x6 posts and I had the not cut this one flush, leave it up about 3ft. This is a 9" 1/4" steel pipe, set on a ball bearing plate. Brackets match my cherry picker motor hoist that I put an electric winch on end. Now easy to lift heavy things, swivel around set on floor.
As other's say I'm thinking 42" rail much better height.

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[txvwnut]

A full wall was mentioned earlier, I can tell you from experience this what you should do. You’ll be surprised at how much dust will make it downstairs from doing wood working upstairs. I’d do a full wall with a loft door for loading large items through.

 

[Don1357]

A full wall was mentioned earlier, I can tell you from experience this what you should do. You’ll be surprised at how much dust will make it downstairs from doing wood working upstairs. I’d do a full wall with a loft door for loading large items through.

Not workable at the moment. That's a 10/12 roof on a 24' wide building; the top is waaaay up there. Also I'm not about to drywall those rafters anytime soon so the dust would just go around. Heck I would need to drywall the entire second floor and stairwell plus frame a door, and dust still would find a way....

 

[Sevenhills1952]

When I first had mine built I had an upholstery shop make a curtain all around, grommets every 6ft. It was for table tennis where we had some real battles[emoji16]

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