Handrail Loading

[SAIL3]

with a 1 1/2" dia pipe for the railing, the H/R post is the weak link....the post spacing is governed by the uniform load of 50 lbs/ft on top rail.....for indusrtial bldgs(non-public access) the 50 #/ft seems excessive to me....I would appreciate some feedback on how other engineers are addressing this, especially for non-public access buildings...thanks for your help..

 

[racookpe1978]

That limit (actually 200 lbs force minimum on one vertical support, 50 lbs/ft average works only if you have one support per four feet. Otherwise, you may have even more force on the support.) is in the rules.

Live with it.

For outside forces loaded from wind under unusual circumstances - a balcony with "solid" faces like a glass panel under hurricane loads - the "handrail force" from people abusing the handrail may be less than the wind load. Then again, you would not expect people to be crowding a outside handrail under hurricane-force winds, so the two should not be additive. ......

 

[structSU10]

In NYS building code, if occupancy is a certain category, handrail load can be reduced to 20 PLF or 200#.

 

[SAIL3]

does anyone know the rationale behind this 50#/ft?...I can see it maybe occuring on a crowded balconcony or panic situation in a public place...but, just leaning with one's elbows on the railing, shoulder to shoulder, can't see it generating this kind of load...understandably,the codes try to cover the most extreme load case that may occur less than 1% of the time and only in certain bldgs....I guess where I am going with this is that the engineer should be able use use his engineering judgement and not use the codes as a cookbook...

 

[bpstruct]

Check IBC 2009 - 1607.7.1 - Exception 2. It allows only 20 plf. Not sure what your governing building code is. I have seen PIP standard details (SF05520)...I haven't checked, but I have doubts about their ability to meet the criteria you are trying to design for. These standard details are routinely used in industrial settings.