Handrails at stairs or ramps are an accessibility item that can easily go wrong in the design stage and be difficult to fix later in the field. In my experience there are three common handrail issues that happen more frequently than designers and builders typically realize. This blog will seek to clarify those issues, with the goal being that they can be caught early and corrected before things actually get built.
The handrail extension at the top and bottom of a stair landing is a common location to see the railing design be non-accessible.
At the bottommost landing the handrail will turn and become the barrier to prevent someone from walking under the stairs due to the low vertical clearance, but this is not acceptable if no extension is provided.
(Images below show the lack of a handrail extension at the top and bottom of a stair.)
At the topmost landing of a stairwell, it is common for the handrail to turn ninety degrees and form the barrier that prevents someone from falling off the stair landing, but this is not acceptable if no extension is provided.
Per the 2010 ADA Standards, Section 505.10.2 at the top flight of a stair, the handrail shall extend horizontally above the landing for a distance of 12” minimum horizontally beginning at the last riser's nosing.
Per the 2010 ADA Standards, Section 505.10.3 at the bottom flight of a stair, the handrail shall extend at the slope of the stair flight for a horizontal distance equal to one tread depth beyond the bottom tread nosing.
Once the horizontal distance of the extension is met at both the top and bottom landings, the extensions must then return to a wall, guard, or landing surface.
The requirement for handrail extensions applies to all stairs no matter where they are in the building, and regardless if the stairwell is functioning as an accessible means of egress containing areas of rescue assistance.
When two routes intersect, it's typically the first instinct to turn the handrail extension at a ramp landing because it seems like a hazard to extend it out into another path of travel. However, the handrail extension can not simply turn to accommodate another walkway or intersecting route.
(Image below shows non-accessible handrail extensions at the bottom of a ramp.)
Per the 2010 ADA Standards, Section 505.10.1, the handrails must extend 12” minimum horizontally above the landing beyond the top and bottom of the ramp runs. Once the horizontal distance of the extension is met at both the top and bottom landings, the extensions must then return to a wall, guard, or landing surface.
Keep in mind that since the horizontal extension must be provided, this may require how the routes intersect to be reconfigured in order to accommodate the extension as well as to prevent the railing from jutting out into another path of travel in a haphazard way.
Ramps and their landings can not have obstructions located anywhere within them, they must be free of obstructions for their entire length. Obstructions can include items like columns, wall projections, or decorative elements extending into the ramp run or landings.
This means that ramp handrails can not change directions to go around these obstructions, the rails on both sides of a ramp must be straight and parallel to the length of the ramp run. A handrail that bends or wraps around an obstruction would not be acceptable, when a railing turns that implies to the user that there is a landing and that the ramp is continuing in the direction of the railing.
A possible way to address this issue is to provide an accessible ramp in between the obstructions. This would require positioning the railings on both sides of the ramp beyond the obstructions so that the handrails run straight and parallel to the ramp run it serves.
(Image below shows this possible design solution.)
The handrail requirements discussed above apply to all types of projects including but not limited to multi-family residential, commercial, hotels, and institutional. However please be aware that there are different requirements for handrails in the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), ANSI A117.1-1986, and the Massachusetts 521 CMR code. If one of these codes applies to your project, the strictest requirement must be met.
If you have any questions about the handrails on your project or any other code question, feel free to reach out to MAPS.
