Railings near you

People say railing for both, but the building code treats them as two different things. A handrail is the rail you hold for balance while going up or down a stair or ramp. A guard is a protective barrier along the open side of a stair, landing, balcony, deck or raised floor, there to keep people, and especially children, from going over the edge. A stair between two walls may need only a handrail; an open stair or a raised deck usually needs both.

Railings in houses are governed by Part 9 of the National Building Code of Canada or by the provincial code based on it, such as Quebec's Construction Code, in the edition adopted where you live. The code decides where a guard is required, based on how far someone could fall, and how high it must be, which can differ with the location and the height of the drop. It requires openings small enough that a young child can't slip through, limits designs that give children a foothold to climb, sets the loads guards and handrails must resist, and covers handrail height, continuity and a shape a hand can grasp firmly.

The exact figures depend on the code edition and the province, so we don't repeat them here. Ask your installer which code applies to your address and to show the guard height, opening sizes and handrail details on the drawings or in the quote; your municipality's building department can confirm them. An existing railing that met the rules when it was built may be allowed to stay, but a new or rebuilt one is generally held to the current code.

A new guard is as much a structural element as a decorative one: its posts must be anchored into framing, blocking or concrete able to take the loads the code requires. A new guard, or the replacement of a whole railing, may require a building permit, particularly as part of a stair, deck or balcony project, while repairs with matching parts often don't; your municipality decides, and the contractor should check before ordering.

Outdoor railings take rain, snow, ice, de-icing salt and repeated freezing and thawing, and they are often leaned on by several people at once. Water trapped at the base of wood posts leads to rot, salt attacks metal coatings and fasteners, and snow left against a guard presses on it for months. A railing is only as sound as the deck or balcony it is fastened to, which our deck construction page covers.

Rules for decks and balconies are also local. Montreal, for example, handles permits by borough: its page for Ahuntsic-Cartierville requires a permit to build or replace a deck, balcony, porch or front stoop whose floor is more than 60 centimetres above the ground, and lists guard height and baluster spacing among the points to check before starting.

A loose railing is a safety problem, not a cosmetic one. A handrail that shifts gives way at the moment someone relies on it, and a guard that moves can fail when someone leans on it or falls against it. Have it repaired promptly by a carpenter or railing installer, and until then keep children away from it and warn visitors. Driving a longer screw into rotten wood or a stripped hole is not a repair.

The Public Health Agency of Canada's guide to preventing falls recommends solid handrails on both sides of stairways and good lighting on stairs. For older adults, people recovering from an injury or surgery and young children, a well-placed handrail is one of the simplest ways to make a home safer.