Mecklenburg County
Common Code Defects
Commercial- Building
Code Defects
• Handrails not extended at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs.
Code Description
Section 1009.11.5
“Handrails shall return to a wall, guard or the walking surface or shall be
continuous to the handrail of an adjacent stair flight. Where handrails are
not continuous between flights, the handrails shall extend horizontally at
least 12 inches beyond the top riser and continue to slop for the depth of
one tread beyond the bottom riser”.
Possible Options:
There are 2 handrail extension typically required by Code the first being the
requirement as listed above out of the building Code. The second
requirement is from the NC accessibility code that requires an additional
12” run parallel with the floor surface. The accessibility code has options for
not creating a hazard with the projections however the building code has no
option and the handrail must be extended as listed above. Note the
extension at the bottom of the flight is not just 12” but rather whatever the
depth of the treads are in the flight.
Disclaimer: There may be other ways to comply with the Code. If so, you are not
required to use this method to comply with the Code. You may want to
investigate other options, or consult with a design professional identifying an
equally code compliant solution.