Hi,
Does anyone know if building regulations requires you to have a hand rail/banister or wall on both sides of a staircase? As i have just removed a stud wall separating our stairs from another room and now it is an open gap (which we would like to keep this way). The other wall still exists and has a hand rail. How do I contact someone from buildling regulations to come and inspect it and does it cost anything?
Thanks, Muse, UK
I think staircases are covered by part K...
[looks at odpm website]have a look at this:-
This is absolutely not acceptable. It may result in severe liability judgements if a visitor or child is hurt.
There are two issues here, handrails and guarding. You only need 2 handrails if the stairs are more than 1 metre wide, which is probably not the case. However, you need guarding if there is a drop greater than 600mm. This is clearly needed. Generally the guarding would incorporate a handrail. So, in summary, you can get away with one handrail, but it has to be on the room side, not the wall side.
The guarding will consist of a handrail at between 900mm and 1000mm from the tread. Beneath this rail must be guarded such that no object (sphere) of
100mm could be inserted through it. This is to stop babies and children crawling through and being trapped or falling to their death. The construction must be difficult to climb for a young child. This basically means you may not use horizontal rails. You can use vertical banisters, rails angled with the stair rising, or a solid wall.Christian.
What about those complicated wrought iron swirls which just ASK to be climbed?
Our children couldn't and our grandchildren can't be kept from climbing on and sliding down our banister. Not could I when I visited my aunt who lived in this house (when I ws a child). We panelled the banisters for a short while but the children couldn't grip with their legs and didn't feel safe so we removed them. They looked awful anyway and prevented light from reaching the hall. That was potentially dangerous.
I'm sure the regs are felt to be essential by those who make them but where do you stop? I've been in houses with kiddie-safe gates at top and bottom of stairs - when the youngest child was five. I tripped on the frame of the gate, that was potentially dangerous.
We should all live on one level?
Mary
That's between you and the BCO. Make sure you put the kettle on before he/she arrives.
Sounds fantastic. When do I get an invite? ;-)
Ouch. I would say 6 months to around the 3 year mark might be more reasonable, myself, depending very much on the individuals involved, of course.
Christian.
I don't have them (I wish!) No, I see them in lots of public places, museums especially.
I'm here most of the time. But it's too short to be a thrill when you're big, I don't do it any more.
The trip factor is still there ... :-(
Mary
You can buy types without a trip bar. Indeed, I regard this as an essential feature, especially at the top of the stairs.
Christian.
How is it that so many "designer" homes, often of the type shown on TV or in the glossies, completely ignore these requirements? I've lost count of the number of times I have had a dig in the ribs from SWMBO for muttering *Building Regs" on seeing them.
Chris
I know. They either don't get certificates, remove them after the certificate or bribe the BCO.
Christian.
So do I. I'd regulate against sales of all-round frames when the bottom one is proud of the floor.
I'd also legislate agains the same thing but bigger in plastic external door frames.
Don't vote for me!
Mary
At the top of my stairs the bannisters return along the landing, i.e. the stair rail goes up the stairs to the newel post, then right 90 degrees for about 4", then right 90 degrees again finishing on a wall. If you look from the landing, you can see a horizontal row of bannisters, and through them you can see the ones going down the stairs. I made a timber panel "door" that ran back in between the rows of bannisters, in steel "U" channel between the rows, with a plastic clip made of a piece of timber and two "fix-it" blocks under the 4" piece of stair-rail. A small wheel was fixed to the front of the sliding gate so that it could be opened and closed. A knob on a length of steel tube and studding went through a strip of steel screwed to the top of the sliding "gate", through a piece of square tube screwed to the bottom of the gate (which slid in the U channel) and into a captive nut in a small plate screwed to the floor, holding the gate in the "shut" position. Nothing to trip on.
At the bottom of the stairs, I welded up a U frame (with a square bottom, not a rounded "U") of square section tube to fit a bought steel stair gate. The stair gate surround fitted into the U exactly, and was bolted in through the sides, so that the normal closing mechanism for the gate still workes as designed. The U had 8" pieces welded on, each side, which were screwed onto the treads of the stair.
| | | You might have to b- about with | the font to see this - the gate | --| and surround fitted into the | v |___ middle - the sticky-out bits | / v were screwed to the treads (v). | / I considered making it adjustable --| / to fit all stairs. v |/ |___ v
This only makes 4 small holes in the treads, doesn't damage the wall or newel, and is strongly fixed - also, nothing to trip over!
J.B.
The do look the business sometimes...
Actually, single runs of more than a flor are deprecated, if not disallowed I think.
The ideal staircase is short flights, landings and a change in direction.
Having climmbed the pyramid at Chichen Itza, with about 40 lbs of camera equipment and only a rope to hold onto, with the pitch and step size well outside regulations, I can only say I agree with the regs. Second time I went there She refused to climb em, and, having done so once, I didn't bother either.
Too true. We'd love to do something like these, often new-built properties and therefore definitely seen by a BCO but my BCO even measures the head-height to a half mm !
You mean building regulations were ignored when they built the pyramids?
Horrors!
Mary
I couldn't agree more.
Mary
Ever been up the Monument in London. One spiral all the way to the top with
2-way traffic!!
We have guards fitted to all the doors so that young fingers don't get snipped off and lie twitching on the floor. Our two children have learned to shut doors with gay abandon, as fast as they like, and with no regard to the consequences, since they can't actually hurt themselves. Of course, when we are in the outside world they encounter plenty of doors with no guards....... Do safety devices of this sort actually encourage unsafe behaviour?
It was closed when I wanted to :-(
But there are lots of ruined castles like that and the stones are often worn and uneven - many have a deliberate 'trip' step. I've not heard of casualties.
Mary
Twitching bloody fingers are offensive and every precaution should be taken to prevent them.
Do you do a finger count when they come home?
It could be argued so but I think that such guards on doors don't teach children to be careful. They only need to bruise fingers once ... experience is a great teacher and trapped fingers are hardly extreme injuries.
Mary
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