stair handrail question

[Bob Cooper]

i have some 2" x 3" (roughly) douglas fir that i would like to use for handrails. The stairs are open riser 3" thick slabs (not that it matters) and it's for a timber frame home. I'm looking at section R311.5.6.3.2 of the IRC.
attached are two profiles. The top one is what i'm kind of going after. The bottom one is what i *think* i'm reading is required.
The sentence in question is "This required depth shall continue for at least 3/8" to a level that is not less than 1 3/4" below the tallest portion of the profile" <-- which makes me think i've got carry this "finger recell" all the way to the bottom. Am i reading this right? Is the top picture probably OK?
In the end i guess i'm going to ask the inspector before i make these as it would be a royal pain to remove/replace.

[David DeCristoforo]

[QUOTE=... i guess i'm going to ask the inspector before i make these as it would be a royal pain to remove/replace...[/QUOTE]

A wise man once said a wise man would do just that....

[Richard Wolf]

Ok, stair codes are always difficult to understand and are often changing so, even after being in the business for 18 years, take what I say lightly.
No part of the rail may be wider than 2 5/8" at any point. If you reduce the width to 2 5/8", I have seen profiles similar to #1 that meets code, because it forms a hand hold for griping. Most availible profiles for handrails return to a wider dimension at the botom of the rail and never look like profile #2.
Of course the easy out is to check with local inspectors.

Richard

[jud dinsmore]

your best bet would be to check with your local inspectors. our area (i think it might be the state) has adopted its own version of stair and handrail related tolerances. they are different than the irc 2003 which dictates code on most everything else related to house building. i would go so far as to find out which inspector will be performing your inspections and ask that person directly. you would be surprised by the differing "interpretations" that exist within the same locality. good luck.

jud

[Clayton Masterson]

Bob,
Here is St. Louis, the vast majority of our handrails are 2 1/4" wide.

We have trimmed one house in particular that had a profile similar to your first picture. If I can recall corectly, the height was close to 3 1/2" tall, and the width was around 1 3/4" to 2" wide. It has been almost two years since we finished that house. The finger recess was within 1/3 of the distance to the top of the rail.

I know for a fact that the stair parts came from Kirkwood Stair. I do not know if their website is up and running yet, but it might be worth a look. They do work all over the country.. but mainly here in town and in FL.

Howewer, I would suggest that you ask a local stair supplier about their profiles. They are an incredible source of information.

Clayton