can wall hand rail be more than 1-1/2" off the wall

[syarn]

ansi a117.1-2003

section 505.5 clearance

as long as the total projection of the handrail & hand rail clearance is 4" or less off the wall you can have a hand rail that has more than 1-1/2" off the wall?

it could be up to 2-3/4" off the wall with a 1-1/4" diameter hand rail correct?

 

[Coug Dad]

NFPA 101 requires the handrail to have a clearance of 2.25 inches. Hospitals are required to follow NFPA 101 per CMS so, yes, a 2.25 clearance handrail is allowed.

 

[AegisFPE]

The IBC limits each handrail from projecting more than 4.5 inches into the required egress width.

The handrail could project further from the wall, but the egress width would be reduced by the distance the handrail projected beyond 4.5 inches into the egress width.

 

[Paul Sweet]

I believe the 1 1/2" distance from a wall was to minimize the chance of somebody getting their arm wedged between the grab bar & the wall if their hand slipped while pushing themself up using the grab bar.

However BOCA (or an early edition of IBC) required a greater distance fror exterior handrails to accommodate people with large hands wearing gloves.

I'd recommend limiting grab bar clearance to 1 1/2", and using your own judgement for handrails.

 

[Francis Vineyard]

ansi a117.1-2003section 505.5 clearance

as long as the total projection of the handrail & hand rail clearance is 4" or less off the wall you can have a hand rail that has more than 1-1/2" off the wall?

it could be up to 2-3/4" off the wall with a 1-1/4" diameter hand rail correct?

This projection is not necessarily measured from a wall or surface. Unless your state amended to 4 inches handrails may project up to 4½ into the stairway minimum width provided it meets A117.1-03 section 307.

Francis

 

[RJJ]

All good answers!