Handrail Installations
Introduction
A handrail is a rail designed to be grasped by the hand to provide stability or support for people.[1] It is a holding and guiding element for people's hands at a gripping height. Handrails are usually designed in the form of rods, rails or slats. Common materials are metal, wood, wood-based materials or plastic. Handrails are generally used when going up or down stairs even on escalators to prevent harmful falls. They can be supported by some type of post (baluster) forming the top of a railing (railing) or mounted directly on the wall.
History
The oldest known handrail was discovered by French archaeologist Pierre St. Jamaine in an Assyrian ruin in southern Iraq in the city-state of Nippur.
Requirements
Handrails are often associated with stairs. Whether the law prescribes where and how many handrails of a staircase depends on the number of steps (inclinations), the width of the stairs and the purpose of the respective structure. In Germany this is regulated in the state building regulations and many other regulations. Special building regulations often require double-sided handrails, z. In hospitals and nursing homes, in schools and kindergartens, in sales and meeting places, in hotels and restaurants, etc.
The law prescribes a “fixed” railing, so handrails made of rope are just an ornament, as they can give way in a fall. Handrails should be as rounded or as round as possible and have a diameter of 30 to 45 mm. They must be continuous and must be guided beyond the first and last step. For round wooden handrails, VOB/DIN 18334 specifies a minimum diameter of 48 mm or, alternatively, a rectangular cross section of at least 40 × 60 mm.
Handrails on stairs
In publicly accessible buildings, handrails are required on both sides of stairs to ensure a secure hold on both sides. This provision also applies to listed buildings, as case law places the safety of users above the protection of historic monuments. In the state building regulations of the individual federal states, bilateral handrails are often required for all necessary stairs and escalators. Even in homes, if more than two apartments are not continuously accessible, handrails are needed on both sides of the stairs for the safety of elderly or disabled people.