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Horizontal Handrail Location

D

duckbill

Bronze Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Messages
51
Location
PA
2009 IBC Code. Are there any requirements for horizontal handrail locations other than a minimum of 1.5" from the wall and maximum projection of 4.5" into the required width?

I am dealing with a stair that does not extend wall to wall in width. The handrail is +/- 11" beyond the edge of the stair horizontally and attached to the wall with the correct spacing. While this appears to be a safety concern in reaching for and using the handrail, I don't see any requirements in the code to fail this location.
 
Between the walls is about 5'-0". The stairs only take up 3'-0". There is angled (sloped) construction matching the slope of the stair stringer topped in stained wood to match the stairs of about 1'-0" on each side. The handrails are mounted on the walls, have extensions, are continuous and 1.5" away from the wall. The handrails appear to meet all code requirements except they are too far away from the stairs to really be useful.
 
1.5" is a minimum distance from the face of the wall; as long as it is grippable it is compliant. I asked this question during a code cycle a few years ago and the consensus was that a dimension > 1.5" has not been found to contribute to falls when attempting to grasp the handrail.
More critical is failure to provide handrails on both sides of the stairs.
 
You see this detail a lot at subway station stairs: there’s a 4” wide “groove” between the stair and the wall, for drainage and cleaning. It does require a slight further reach, though.
 
I'll agree that the farther the rails are beyond the edge of the tread the less useful they are, but as far as I know no limit has been established yet. A few inches is probably fine, but 11" is stretching it. The wide stringer needs to be far enough above the steps that it doesn't become a tripping hazard.
 
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