Had a new construction railing today and the wood slats were ran sideways for the deck railing and upper interior stairwell.
I cannot find anything locally about horizontal runs. even if the wood used does not exceed the 4 inch rule, are the sidways boards legit?
I believe that restriction was removed from many AHJs checklist but many here still list it as a potential safety hazard.
Very common now in new construction.
http://vivarailings.com/viva_downloa…-Handrails.pdf
http://vivarailings.com/
What Larry said…and…note as potential safety hazard, let buyer decide.
Here is more info on the matter!
http://www.warehamforge.ca/ARCHITECTURAL/railings/railing-code.html
http://www.deckmagazine.com/pdf/2007/0707/0707lett.pdf
By their very nature, cable rails do not invite
climbing because the thin cable is hard to grasp
and stand on, and the material is flexible.
NOMMA maintains that the best way to maximize
guard safety is to follow the current ICC
codes, especially in regard to height, strength,
and spacing between infill elements, and to never
allow unattended children on balconies, porches,
or stairs, regardless of the design.
Doug Bracken and Chris Connelly
Co-chairs
Code Advisory Council,
National Ornamental & Miscellaneous
Metals Association
So here is the the argument. Unless you had no furniture in which to climb over the railing and ignore that young children should not be left unattended they are safe. The design of most gable railing systems has a top cap that is next to impossible to get over.
Studies have shown that children have no desire to climb up the railing at a young age.
If it was such a problem why is there not one documented fall from this type of railing.
Again this is when we have to present what the AHJ says and the other side to allow the Client to make the decision.
Hello Sean, as i did not see anything in your post about cable railings this is from the Ontario building code with regard to horizontal wood slats you mentioned. Note for railings read Guards.
Of course your codes may differ but in any case any horizontal climbable surface could be considered hazardous with children.
Is it climbable?
If so, report it as a potential safety concern.
Yes this is correct for Ontario and we have stricter CODES than most. Thanks for pointing this out Grant.
One thing it does say unless it can be proven to provide no danger than it does not apply. It will be interesting to see if the cable railing will be accepted here in Ontario.
I have not seen any applications yet in my town.
Here’s a bit of information from the internet, hopefully helps…
[FONT=Verdana]The Ladder Effect[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]The published 2000 IRC stated that guardrails shall not be constructed with horizontal members or other ornamental pattern that results in a ladder effect. The *ladder effect *has never been a part of the IBC.The *ladder effect *was removed from the IRC during the 2001 code cycle.The change was noted in the 2001 IRC supplement and the current 2003IRC contains no reference to the ladder effect.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]However, some local code authorities are using older codes based on BOCA – the creator of the *ladder effect *wording – and the 2000 IRC. Many local code inspectors are not aware of the 2001 change and may reject guardrailings with infills they interpret as creating a ladder effect. It is taking time for the 2001 IRC supplement and the new 2006 model codes to trickle down to the local levels. In the meantime, be prepared to address this issue should it come up in your area.[/FONT]
Taken from here…
http://www.buyrailings.com/t-GeneralBuildingCodes.aspx
Basically come down to your local AHJ…
Bert
There also was a very long study done on the ladder effect and as pointed out there are more deaths and injuries from falls off chairs, counter tops ect than off Climbing infills.
O recorded in the report from Guards made of cable railing and zero with wood infill.
I have not seen the report for sometime so I can only state what I have read.
That being said any area that a child cannot be watched is a dangerous area if a fall can occur IMO.