Design and Attachment of Handrails
(1) Handrails and their supports shall be designed and constructed to withstand the following loads, which need not be considered to act simultaneously:
(a) a concentrated load of not less than 0.9 kN applied at any point and in any direction for all handrails, and
(b) for handrails other than those serving a house or an individual dwelling unit, a uniform load of not less than 0.7 kN/m.
(2) Where exterior or interior handrails serving a house or an individual dwelling unit are attached to wood studs or blocking, the attachment shall be deemed to comply with Sentence (1), where,
(a) the attachment points are spaced not more than 1.2 m apart measured on the horizontal plane,
(b) the first attachment point at either end is located not more than 300 mm from the end of the handrail, and
(c) the fasteners consist of no fewer than two No. 8 wood screws at each point, penetrating not less than 32 mm into solid wood.
Article 9.8.7.7 Ontario Regulation 332/12 Building Code, Information published by oncodes.ca for educational purposes only.
