[TheForge] guardrails & handrails

[Howell Steve]

Roger- my 2 cents FWIW: YES!  Definately give yourself some breathing room
for pitched sections. I've been taking on more stair rails 'cause I like
making all that screwed up geometry fit together. I have smith friends who,
while far more skilled that I hate rails because there are 'too many little
decisions'. Someone here once referred to it as the PITA factor: the Pain In
The Ass factor. I think that's a great way to sum it up. There's so many
things with angled sections that can get your head in a twist; height above
tread, height above nose, securing posts to treads (or best case- under the
tread to secure to the framing. Try that in a finished house) not to mention
the fact that a tenth of a degree off over 10' is something like 1/2". Ask
me, I know! 

I do have some printouts of sections of the UBC code that was on a pre-fab
spiral builders website. It's not complete but it's a start:
westfiremfg.com/html/stair_codes.html

 
My unanswered code question is what to do with that big 'ol space that forms
under the bottom rail between treads. Definately larger than 4" round.

Steve
Seattle




Subject: [TheForge] guardrails & handrails


I have done maybe 8 guardrails,  some on stairs, some on only
horizontal, and some with both.  Building railings on stairs has always
been harder and involved a lot more time than on the horizontal but I
never gave much thought to a percentage difference in cost from
horizontal to angled.  I had lunch with a smithing friend yesterday who
does quite a few railings and he asked if I had heard of and do I bid my
railing jobs by the method of figuring your bid on the horizontal and
then double it for the angled.  Have any of you heard of this?  Do any
of you have thoughts on time differences from building horizontal and
angled and if you figure it into your bidding process somehow.  I
realize that different styles of joinery or design can have a difference
but just generally speaking.

Also do any of you have the UBC book?  If so and you also have a scanner
would you be willing to cut and paste them to me or maybe to the group?
There seems to be some gray areas and although I have spoken with the
inspector I would very much like a copy of the code.  My county does
follow the UBC and has now deviation from it when it comes to handrails
and guardrails.

Thanks,

Roger Olsen