Stair railing problem

[keith micinski]

Well I have tried four ways to figure this stair rail out and come up with way to make it work and I can't do it. No matter what I do the gap going down at an angle is thinner then the gap on the flat. Any suggestions on how to maintain a consistent gap all the way down the stair case?

342267

[John TenEyck]

Your horizontal pieces need to be the same width as the cut end of the angled pieces.

John

[Bill Orbine]

342271 This will give you equal spaces between railings. Though, not to code.

[Wayne Lomman]

I agree with John - Its the only practical solution. Cheers

[Justin Ludwig]

Measure down the angle the width of the boards that are flat. 5-1/2"? Then rip the excess off on a table saw.

342292

The angle on the the piece in the pic is 33.5*

[Pat Barry]

Well I have tried four ways to figure this stair rail out and come up with way to make it work and I can't do it. No matter what I do the gap going down at an angle is thinner then the gap on the flat. Any suggestions on how to maintain a consistent gap all the way down the stair case?

342267
You can never have the gaps the same on the horizontal and sloped sections unless the board widths are made to different widths _ wider for the horizontal as compared to the sloped. Of course then it will still look a bit irregular to you. As it is I think it is normal

[Steve Schoene]

The VERTICAL gap can be made to be consistent with the vertical gap on the flat. But the basic geometry dictates that the gap measured on the right angle to the boards MUST be smaller on the sloped section. You can't change it, so just be sure that the vertical gap is consistent and live with the results. It will end up looking right.

[keith micinski]

After speaking with the customer it looks like we are just going to run it with the gap varying between the verticals and the horizontal. It doesn't really look that bad I just wanted to make sure there wasn't an easy solution that I was missing.

[David Helm]

Is that legal in your jurisdiction? Here horizontal boards (that can be climbed by a child) are not legal.

[keith micinski]

As long as any gap is less then 4" it's legal to the best of my knowledge. The home owner could care less about legality though since they originaly wanted to just run a couple of ropes for a railing.

[John TenEyck]

Homeowners seem to care a lot more about what's legal if someone gets hurt. Be sure what you did is to code.

John

[Marc Burt]

Homeowners seem to care a lot more about what's legal if someone gets hurt. Be sure what you did is to code.

John

This is very true. Also, should they decide to sell the house and it's not to code who's name do you think they will drag through the mud?

[Mel Fulks]

I agree with John. But some code things, I think, are clear compromises between good and cheap. Like having stair rails too high to lean on just to get by without a guard rail when often both are needed.

[mreza Salav]

As long as any gap is less then 4" it's legal to the best of my knowledge. The home owner could care less about legality though since they originaly wanted to just run a couple of ropes for a railing.

that gap you are referring to are between vertical spindles. Here in Canada that railing is not allowed anywhere.

[keith micinski]

I'm not even sure that guard rail rules apply here since at no point is the stair case more then 30" off the ground. I think the hand rail requirement applies in this situation.

[lowell holmes]

I hate to ask, but exactly what code or codes are you fellows talking about?

[Al Launier]

I'm not even sure that guard rail rules apply here since at no point is the stair case more then 30" off the ground. I think the hand rail requirement applies in this situation.

I agree that rails aren't needed since the floor is >= 30" above the ground if that is thecode in your area. However, should a child climb the horizontal rails he/she would then be higher than 30" & I think the building inspector would not accept these railings.

[mreza Salav]

Building code. As others have mentioned, there could be legal consequences.
Here if you have a deck/porch that is >24" off the ground needs guards and the set of stairs that are more than 3 (again 24" rise)
need railing as well. The code specifies what sort of guard/railing is acceptable.

[lowell holmes]

Which building code are you referring to? I doubt that a Canadian code would apply to Texas. I am aware of the Uniform Building Code and the Southern Building Code. I am not aware that they apply to my city.

http://www.tfco.com/GEN-OSHA.htm

The link gives the osha standard, but I'm not aware of it being a code.

That being said, I would comply with it.

Actually, the height of the rail posts on the landing and the stairs are geometry. The stair rail posts cannot be the same height as the rail posts on the landing.

[Steve Schoene]

These are building codes that specify minimum standards for buildings. Dickinson Texas requires adherence to the 2009 International Residential Code. Check with the cities building department, who can explain how to obtain a building permit and arrange for the required inspections from the Building Inspector, assuming your project requires permitting. When selling a house the buyers can often ask if all renovations have been permitted, and if not use that as a way to obtain last minute concessions at closing.

Permits for a particular house would be filed in the town's Building Office and would generally be public information.

[lowell holmes]

That's interesting. Having built several houses in the Dickinson - Galveston County area, I know how to get a building permit.

My point is this string had various members from various areas quoting their understanding of the "code". Well, you have to be specific about which code for the area you are building in.
I was just trying to identify which code they were talking about. My point was as you stated, check with the city building department.

That being said, I have designed and made drawings for more than a few ladders, platforms, and stairways. Some of the details they were making, while logical, don't necessarily show up in a particular local's building code.

I always found that if I was confused about a point, I could call the building inspector and find out what was needed. I don't think you could do this in a large city like Houston.

In my area, there are seven jurisdictions. That means that if you need a building permit, you will have to go to the proper jurisdiction. I am not familiar with all of the differences in all of the jurisdictions.
You would probably find minor differences from one to the other.

My reason for questioning the code was the way the string was going, all of the respondents were subject to the same requirements and that did not make sense to me.