Open staircase - regulations?

annebrodie

Hi all. I am modernising my house which was built in 1975, and which has a rather hideous baluster. I was thinking about just getting rid of it altogether, which would visually widen my hallway considerably, and fixing a simple handrail to the wall instead.

Would I be in violation of any kind of building regulation if I were to do this?

Thanks for your advice.

Mellor

Stairs must be in compliance with part K of the building regulations, some methods of compliance are set out in TGD part K, this can be found on the Department of the Environment website, www.environ.ie
go to building standards, then TGDs


Under part K all stairs require a handrail 800-900mm high, measured above the imaginary line that joins the nose of each step. The onlt stairs that are exempt from having a handrail are where the total rise is less than 600mm.

So for a domestic stairs you are required to have a handrail. I suppose its worth pointing out that under the current regs, the stairs you show in the photo wouldn't be allowed either (this doesn't affect you, but it wouldn't be allowed in a new build), this is because horzontal elements are not allowed and the space between each is greater than 100mm, also not allowed.

mellor

annebrodie

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of! And thus am doomed to a life of enclosed stairs. Never mind.

sinnerboy

A toughened glass gaurding would do the trick at a cost

http://www.classicspiralstairs.ie/guard-rails-spiral-stairs.htm

Mellor

Its not really what the OP was after, but its fine in terms of TGD K

muffler

Oops sorry lads. I moved this thread by mistake. I'll get Victor to move it back.

annebrodie

First time buyer + "at a cost" = yikes.

Thanks for all your advice, folks. I'll probably stick with what I've got for a few years and see what happens later. Maybe if I just paint them white (like I've done with everything else in the house!) they'll just blend inconspicuously into the background and I won't even notice them anymore...