Deck Railing Code Requirements
Irc stair railing code.
Deck railing code requirements. A deck with no or inadequate railings is an accident waiting to happen. These are two model codes and are offered as suggested guidelines for local code authorities to follow at their discretion. Many code requirements while important rarely touch upon life and death matters. To ensure safety individual communities in the united states regulate certain aspects.
The international residential code for one and two family dwellings irc and the international building code ibc address staircase railings. The requirements are slightly stricter here as the deck railing height code demands at least a 42 height guardrail for any deck. Building code deck railing post spacing requirements according to the international building code deck railing posts should be spaced no further than 6 feet apart. If you choose to install a guardrail on a deck lower than 30 you must still meet code requirements.
In terms of stair railing code requirements code is nearly uniform across north america. Rather there are sections of the residential codethat apply to building standards related to structures such as railings stairs stringers treads footings framin and ledger boards we ve tried to summarize them and put them all together for you. Our safety comes first which is why there are regulations in place in various communities across the united states to test construction adequacy. Decks attached to single family detached homes are regulated under the rules of the international residential code irc.
What you will notice from this checklist is that there is not really a specific deck building code per se. Adherence to building code requirements is a must when it comes to ensuring secure deck railings. According to section r311 7 5 you must provide a landing for any stairway that rises higher than 12 feet. Building code requirements for exterior decking railings and stairways are especially stringent because decks fall into the category of critical health and safety matters.
According to any code there are no restrictions regarding designs unless the spaces between the decorative elements go over 4. Here are some important points. Sometimes local building codes will have more stringent regulations so check your local building department for post spacing requirements. Deck railing height code requirements are straightforward although there is some deviation between states and provinces regarding a standard railing height for decks.
The irc lays out stair requirements for decks in section r507 13 and some depend on requirements outlined elsewhere in the code. Building codes for deck railing.