- Home Improvement
- Redecorate Your Home : No Construction, No Painting, No Mess
- Room Spacing Kits
- Why Hire an Interior Decorator? Why Not....
- Interior Decorating
- Room Spacing Kits
- Drapery Interlinings - Beauty and Function
- Design Project Organizer
Guard Rails
06/01/2009 - By Dave
Dreaming of standing at your new Juliette balcony? " O Romeo..."
When designing your home’s new deck or balcony, consider what you will be using as a guard. Sometimes a simple open design or a highly elaborate design that looks fantastic, may not meet the minimum safety standard that is required by the building code. Adding extra thought to some of the detail will leave you with greater peace of mind in the end.
For safety, guards must be designed to resist climbing and openings may not exceed 4 inches. This is easily met with vertical pickets. If you’re stuck on having horizontal rails or grand scrollwork, you will probably meet neither of those standards. Plan to add Plexiglas or acrylic on the inside of the guard. Discuss options with your fabricator, especially how the clear panels will be attached. If you have to retrofit, the guard may not have the appeal that you were after. Safety glass can be used of the laminated or tempered type conforming to CAN/CGSB-12.1-M. The glass thickness and fasteners will have to be designed to withstand the forces that may be applied to the guard. Or, have another look at nicer pickets….
Guards must resist horizontal forces applied inward or outward. That includes a concentrated load of 224lb at the top of the guard. The panels or pickets must resist 112lbs when using a footprint of 12 inches by 12 inches. Watch out for how the posts are fastened too - four screws into a regular floor deck will surely pull out when loaded. Wood posts should extend down through into the joist space and blocked solidly. Surface mounted posts should have a backing plate that is attached back to the floor joists underneath (per the manufacturer’s instructions).
Guards must be at least 42 inches (1 070 mm) high, but may be 35 inches (900 mm) if the floor is less than 5 ft. – 11 in. above the adjacent ground. Guards inside your home can be 35 inches (900 mm).
Here’s a break: A guard is not required when the adjacent flat surface is less than 23 5/8 inches (600mm) below the floor to be protected.
These are general guidelines only. For specific information, see section 9.8.8 of the Ontario Building Code found online at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca. Search for “guards” and choose “Building Code Act, 1992 - O. Reg. 350/06”
Dave
