The inspector won't sign off on my neighbor's deck, saying the Trex handrail at 3.something is too wide to be grabbed, and that 2.5 inches is the widest that is allowed.
Of course, this is the only size the Trex has.
More to come, when it becomes known.
Is this for the deck, (where I'd be surprised if there WAS a grabability requirement) or for the steps to/from the deck?
jeez, i see 2x4 rails all over...
randy
"John Hines" wrote
For a handrail on stairs, this is correct. I'm sure the inspector doesn't have a problem with the cap on the railing. Sounds as if your friend used a cap rail for the handrail, which will be caught every time when a permit is issued.
Does that make it right?
Hi, Why do you think he's picky? His job is enforcing existing code. If you think code is wrong try to have it fixed. Don't get mad at him. Tony
thanks, he did it like pg 8, where the railing is run down the stair way.
go away...
Agreed. Perhaps there is a local code. Graspability applies to stair railings. To my knowledge, it does not apply to "guards". TB
Arguing with a building inspector is like wrestling with a pig in the mud. Sooner or later you realize the pig enjoys it.
Fix the rail, get the inspection. Locally, a stair rail is 2.5" max and you don't get passed unless it meets the code.
Jeff
What the hell does an inspector know? A person should not have to be guarded from their own stupidity on their own property, should they?
Steve
Followup:
In a discussion (polite) with another inspector for the village, it is the stairway handrails that are the problem, as everyone suspected.
The solution is going to be, get some hand railings from the box store, and bolt them on. And you know, knudge knudge, wink wink, they won't last much past the final inspection, at least on the stairways used mostly by the dogs.
My neighbor said the builder gave him the choice of what he wanted for the stair rails, and he picked to continue the railing top.
Moral of this story, as the Trex manual says "check local building codes".
Thanks everyone.
Sorry to say, but yes! Actually, the inspector is protecting an insurance company against the homeowner's stupidity! Greg
Just as important, visitors to your home or the neighboring homes. I don't really give a damn what you do on your own property, including injury or death. What does bother me is if you decide to do something as a shortcut and start your house on fire and a house in close proximity starts on fire from it. Or you have a picnic for the guys from work and the 20 x 40 food deck supported by a couple of 2 x4's collapses.
Still an insurance company's problem in the end! That is who the inspector is protecting! You must build your railing this way because someone got hurt, and a insurance company had to pay out. When the same accidents happen over and over again, codes change to protect the insurance companies! Think about it, if nobody ever got sued in past history, if anybody got hurt decided just to shut up about it and pay their own bills, the building codes would be much more relaxed. In the end the buck stops with the insurance industry. Greg
Railings need balusters. Didn't have them many years ago. Just a black pipe at about 32" around the porch. Toddler comes out onto the porch, and off. Three stories down.
If I go to a property, and the dead front panel is missing, it's my butt that I'm protecting by citing the owner.
Real world is that if someone gets hurt, all the participants in that injury will have an opportunity to meet each other in a pretty room with uncomfortable wooden seats, with a guy in a black dress up front.
Yes that makes a lot of sense. I suppose that explains why there are zoning requirements, building height restrictions, side yard requirements, rqts that a kitchen have a washable floor, etc. All driven by the insurance company. Or could it be that in some cases, govt is there to make sure that people don't do stupid things, that in one way or another, intrude on the rights and safety of others?
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