Yes and yes. You were there, what do you think?
Well, I am trying to figure out why outdoor guardrails fall under different physical laws.
Well, for one thing, there are 100’s of different types of materials used and every design is engineered different.
I just go by what the standard stair guard rail that has not changed much in the past 55 years.
Newb question here. I can’t see the cross section of that deck stair guardrail/handrail, is it considered graspable?
Edit: proper terminology?
Good question, Leif:
Thank you for the resource!
“According to an InterNachi class on decks “Stair handrails should have posts at least every 5 feet”. Perhaps I should have looked at that before I made my initial post.
The image above depicts the minimum distance between stair handrail posts. Stair handrails should have posts at least every 5 feet.”
Never seen that requirement anywhere else.
1607.8.1 Handrails and Guards
Handrails and guards shall be designed to resist a linear load of 50 pounds per linear foot (plf) (0.73 kN/m) in accordance with Section 4.5.1 of ASCE 7. Glass handrail assemblies and guards shall also comply with Section 2407.
This section doesn’t say anything about requirements for post spacing, only the minimum resistance to force already discussed (200 lbs. and 50 lbs.).
There are a ton of standards out there if, in addition to the widely accepted ones like IRC and IBC, you include the local standards and those from various specialist associations. I’m pretty sure that the InterNACHI Deck Inspection course was based on the standards of one of those specialist associations. I remember when it was being created, but not which association.
Unless an inspector wants to quote which standards he’s inspecting to (and then make sure he doesn’t miss any violations, because by citing standards he might be accused of performing an inspection for violations of those standards) he should just stick to grabbing the handrail or guard and shoving it around. If it feels too flimsy, say so. If it feels OK, after checking for other common problems, move on.
That’s the “Just Shove it Around” theory of home inspection 
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