Modern, new homes (free-floating) Stairways with no guardrails

[ryoung7 (ROBERT YOUNG, CMI)]

Daniel, that is no way to treat Larry Kage.
Mr. Kage, Larry, has won numerous distinguished awards in the industry and is a staple on the InterNACHI message board.
Please apologize.

[kleonard (Kevin Leonard, CPI/CMI)]

@ndegaris

I would have a very serious discussion with the buyer as to the lack of safety here.

Guards are required on the open side of stairs and on landings and balconies which are more than 30 inches above the floor or grade below. Guards are to contain intermediate rails, balusters or other construction to reduce the chance of an adult or child from falling through the guard.

Well said, Neil. As home inspectors it’s important to call out potential safety defects as we see fit.

Is that the primary bedroom at the top of that landing?

[bcawhern1 (Brian Cawhern, CMI)]

@kleonard

Well said, Neil. As home inspectors it’s important to call out potential safety defects as we see fit.

Is that the primary bedroom at the top of that landing?

Agreed, we should master as many fields of knowledge as possible, notably safety concerns.

[jspencer (Jeff Spencer)]

@dnowicki

I dead ear it when somebody tells me it’s allowed by code or that it has passed CO. “Staircase should have a railing or guardrail to prevent potential injury from falling.” Boom. Poetry.

I’m not a poet, but this part doesn’t make sense.

And is the “Boom” the sound of the potential injury falling? If you dead ear it, can you hear the “Boom”?

[kstecher (Kevin Stecher)]

I am late to the conversation but here is my write up I use all the time for stairs like that. I see it alot in garages. Hope this helps someone at some point.

o The stairs to the second floor are open on one side. This creates a fall hazard. Current building standards recommend railings with a height of 36 inches, balusters spaced no larger than 4 and ½ inches.

[elistou (Erik Listou)]

Building codes are minimum standards for safety. When I look at this picture, I ask, are the handrails secured to hold the minimum required 200 lbs at any point? How would safety be improved if the step nosings had contrasting colors to help visual recognition of each step? What if we applied public space standards of leveling the handrail at the top and bottom, and extended the rail for improved user interface? What if every picture we see in articles and media had these features? Could we, as inspectors, help to foster new ideas to improve home safety for everyone?