New Handrails and Guards Inside an Ottawa Home: The Paid Steps
Too few Ottawa prices are published for interior handrails and guards to give you a range. What follows is what a quote pays for, step by step, with the Building Code rule behind each one. Handrails and guards are on neither City permit list, so ask the City rather than assume. Deck railings are outdoor work and are not covered on this site.
Reviewed 2026-10-01 · why these pages have no ranges
Paid steps
Handrails and guards: what a quote pays for, in order
-
Measuring heights and drops
- What it is
- Measuring the stair and every open edge the new rail or guard has to cover.
- On the bill because
- Required handrails sit 865 to 1 070 mm above a line drawn along the tread nosings. Guards go on open sides where the drop is more than 600 mm, and inside a dwelling unit they are at least 900 mm high.
- Ask for it itemized
- The heights the quote is built to, written on it.
OBC 9.8.7.4.(1)-(2); 9.8.8.1.(1); 9.8.8.3.(2)
-
Blocking and fastening
- What it is
- Solid wood in the wall behind each bracket.
- On the bill because
- In a single dwelling unit, a handrail fixed to wood studs or blocking is deemed to comply when the attachment points are not more than 1.2 m apart, the first one is within 300 mm of each end, and each point has at least 2 No. 8 wood screws reaching 32 mm into solid wood.
- Ask for it itemized
- Whether opening the wall for blocking, and closing it again, is in the price.
OBC 9.8.7.7.(2)
-
Removing the old railOlder homes
- What it is
- Taking off the old rail, balusters or guard.
- On the bill because
- Health Canada says a home built before 1960 probably contains lead-based paint, and warns against sanders, heat guns or blowlamps for removing it. Old painted balusters are worth testing before anyone cuts or strips them.
- Ask for it itemized
- Whether old painted parts are tested first, and who arranges it.
Health Canada, Lead-based paint
-
The handrail
- What it is
- The rail itself, its brackets and its ends.
- On the bill because
- A required handrail is continuously graspable from the bottom riser to the top riser. The clearance behind the handrail is at least 50 mm, or 60 mm where the surface behind it is rough or abrasive.
- Ask for it itemized
- The rail profile and species, priced apart from installation.
OBC 9.8.7.2.(1); 9.8.7.5.(1)
-
Guard infill
- What it is
- Balusters, panels or glass between the top of the guard and the floor or stair.
- On the bill because
- Openings stop a 100 mm sphere, and the triangle under a stair guard stops a 150 mm sphere. Nothing between 140 mm and 900 mm above the floor may make climbing easy, and glass in a guard is safety glass.
- Ask for it itemized
- The baluster count or panel type the price is for.
OBC 9.8.8.5.(1)-(2); 9.8.8.6.(1); 9.8.8.7.(1)
-
Finishing
- What it is
- Stain, paint or clear finish on the new parts.
- On the bill because
- Finishing takes its own time and material, separate from building the rail.
- Ask for it itemized
- Whether finishing is included, and who does it.
Totalon your written quote
Get quotes for thisCity permit lists
Not listed: ask the City
Handrails and guards appear on neither the City's list of permit projects nor its list of exempt projects. Ask the City before work starts, especially if a guard is part of wider changes to a stair or floor opening.
On a designated heritage building or in a Heritage District Overlay, the City's permit exemptions do not apply: contact the City first.
No fee calculator on this page. Where a job does need a permit, this is how the City's fee is worked out.
Ask before you sign
- Which side of the stair the handrail goes on, and why that side.
- How the rail is fastened where no stud falls behind a bracket.
- Whether the old balusters are reused or replaced.
The contract, cancellation, estimate and holdback rules that apply to every carpentry quote: before you sign any carpentry quote.
More on this work: Handrails & Guards
Carpentry IQ answers on this job
Quick answers
How many handrails does a stair inside my house need?
One, for a stair narrower than 1 100 mm inside a dwelling unit (Table 9.8.7.1.). Interior stairs with not more than 2 risers in a single dwelling unit need none (9.8.7.1.(3)(a)).
How high is the guard at the top of my stairs?
At least 900 mm inside a dwelling unit (9.8.8.3.(2)); on a stair it is measured to a line through the tread nosings (9.8.8.3.(4)). The handrail is a different part, at 865 to 1 070 mm.
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