Expert: Sharon Toji - 6/18/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

I purchased a 7 Unit apartment house in Swoyersville, PA a few months ago in Luzerne County. The back stairs that lead up to a single Apartment needed to be replaced. Since the house has more then 4 Units, it is considered to be Commercial. The inspector/township is making us include ADA compliant handrails on the new stairs on both sides of a 4 foot wide stairs because of the "Commercial" title. I find this to be totally ridiculous since the stairs only access a single apartment. IF this was a 4 Unit building,it would be considered residential and I would NOT have to provide the handrail!

Is there a way around this?? There seems to be some contradiction regarding this issue.

Thanks

Gary

ANSWER: I know how hard times are right now, and any expenditure that does not seem necessary is very difficult to justify. However, the inspector is probably correct that you need to provide the handrails. If the stairway were inside the unit, it would be a different story.

I do want to say, however, that stairs are about the most dangerous elements of most homes and businesses. By providing handrails, you are not only protecting yourself and the apartment dweller from liability, but you are making the apartment more attractive to a wider potential group of renters. Older people, particularly, even though not technically disabled, need the security of handrails when they use stairs. In the ANSI standards committee to which I belong, we debated removing stairs from the standards, since they obviously aren't wheelchair accessible. However, we decided that there are many people who have disabilities that fall outside wheelchair use that need safe stairways. Handrails are a big factor, as well as striping so it's easy to distinguish one stair from the next, for people with somewhat impaired vision. You just need to hear the statistics on severe injuries and death caused by stair falls to get an appreciation of why they are needed.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful in terms of saving you money on the project. I have a business myself and I know how tight things are. I wonder if you might be able to claim a tax credit for ADA improvements by adding the rails? You should ask your tax advisor, and it might help financially. Good luck.

Sharon Toji

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your response Sharon,

Just to clarify, is the handrail required on BOTH sides of a 4' wide stairs? One side is the wall on the house and the other side is the stair guard rail..Is there a code which states that both sides need a handrail?

Thanks again!

Gary

Answer
Yes, you need handrails on both sides. Here is a summary of rules for stairs:If you want to see the actual ADA Guidelines, go to http://www.access-board.gov and I think they may be in Chapter 5.

Sharon Toji

Stairs and Ramps Requirements
Each run of stairs must have a landing at the top and bottom. Stair should not rise more than 12 feet without an intermediate platform or landing. Tread length not to be less than 11” min and riser height not to be more than 7 inches max. Projection or nosing 1 ½” max. Stair width 48” clear between handrails.

Hand rails at both sides of stairs. Hand rails to extend 12” beyond the top and bottom of the stairway. Guard rails must be at least 42 inches high and nothing with a 4” diameter can pass through any opening created by the rail configuration. Hand rails height ranges from 30 inches to 34 inches and should have 1 ½” clearance from the mounting partition, maximum projection of rail not to exceed 3”.

All ramps should have a max ratio at 1 to 12. Ramp clearance from handrail to handrail is 36 inches and landing as wide as ramp with length min. length 60 inches. If ramp change direction, min landing is 5’ x 5’.