jpowell
Bronze Member
Hi all,
Looking for some opinions here. I believe the code is silent to this. IRC 2018.
Let's say we have an interior stairway with a stone wall next to it. The architect doesn't want a guard rail or handrail on the stone wall side. The stair is "floating" so that it has a gap or 3" or 4" to the stone next to it. Another way of saying it is that there is 3" - 4" of space to the side of the treads, between the tread and wall.
What is an acceptable amount of gap allowed beside the tread without a guard? 1" seems fine. No one is getting a foot down a 1" gap. But how/where can this be justified in code?
The riser is a bit easier, as it must be <4".
Question part 2 - compound the issue by doing the same situation next to a storefront window where the glass is an additional 4" beyond the window frame.
Thanks in advance.
Looking for some opinions here. I believe the code is silent to this. IRC 2018.
Let's say we have an interior stairway with a stone wall next to it. The architect doesn't want a guard rail or handrail on the stone wall side. The stair is "floating" so that it has a gap or 3" or 4" to the stone next to it. Another way of saying it is that there is 3" - 4" of space to the side of the treads, between the tread and wall.
What is an acceptable amount of gap allowed beside the tread without a guard? 1" seems fine. No one is getting a foot down a 1" gap. But how/where can this be justified in code?
The riser is a bit easier, as it must be <4".
Question part 2 - compound the issue by doing the same situation next to a storefront window where the glass is an additional 4" beyond the window frame.
Thanks in advance.