Handrails & Guards

A handrail is what you hold on a stair; a guard is the barrier that stops a fall from an open side. The 2024 Ontario Building Code treats them separately, and their heights are easy to mix up.

Inside a house, a stair narrower than 1 100 mm needs a handrail on one side, and an interior stair of two risers or fewer needs none. A required handrail sits 865 to 1 070 mm high, measured from a line along the tread nosings, and is graspable from the bottom riser to the top riser; in a single dwelling unit it may start at a newel post or volute on the bottom tread. It keeps at least 50 mm clear behind it.

For wood studs or blocking, the Code accepts attachment points no more than 1.2 m apart, the first within 300 mm of each end, each with at least two No. 8 wood screws reaching 32 mm into solid wood.

A guard is required on an open side where the drop is more than 600 mm. Inside a dwelling unit it is at least 900 mm high. Openings must stop a 100 mm sphere, the triangle under a stair guard must stop a 150 mm sphere, and guards are designed so that nothing between 140 mm and 900 mm above the floor makes them easy to climb. Glass in a guard is safety glass or wired glass.

Deck stairs and outdoor railings are covered on deckbuildersottawa.ca.