Safe Staircases
and Balustrades in South Africa and the Regulations
Staircases can be
a dangerous place where accidents can happen, so it is of utmost importance
that safety is to be considered at all times when designing and building a
staircase and balustrades.
In this
article both staircases and balustrades will be discussed as they work
together to make a safe staircase, balustrades are also required in other
places but are not discussed in the article.
This article is written to create awareness and is not a definitive guide and one would need to consult all the relevant SANS codes to cover all the specific requirements.
Staircase
Categories and Regulations
At Blue
Engineering we strive to build safe Staircases and Balustrades; in South
Africa we have regulations that specify safety requirements which we comply
with, many of the safety requirements take old people and children into
consideration and this is very important.
The
regulations are SANS10400, SANS10160 and SANS10140 and for Glass Balustrades
we also have SANS10137 and SANS1263.
In the
workplace there are also safety requirements regarding staircases with
regards to Occupational Health and Safety and an employer has the
responsibility of providing a safe working environment for employees.
Staircases
and Balustrades (Railings) are broken down into different categories
according to their use and the regulations have variations for these
staircases, Industrial, Public, Commercial and various types of Residential
according to the building occupancy classification, then there are
Staircases that form part of an escape route like fire escape staircases
which have additional regulations in SANS10400 Part T and Staircases for
persons with disabilities in SANS10400 Part S.
Staircases
require a rational design and assessment so need to be suited for the
purpose they are built with all things considered, there is no one size fits
all approach and there are many misconceptions about the requirements as can
be seen by the amount of dangerous staircases out there.
What the law
says
The law says
that the owner of the building is responsible and liable in the event of an
accident, especially when injury or death is the result so it is in the best
interests of property owners to ensure that their staircases and balustrades
are safe, compliant and maintained.
It is of
utmost importance that your staircases are compliant with regulations and
are maintained and kept safe as for one you want to be able to sleep at
night with a clear conscience knowing you have this covered and you don’t
want to expose yourself to liability because you have been found wanting and
not compliant when things go wrong and end up with civil litigation and
criminal prosecution.
Ensure you
employ the services of a competent person or company for your staircases and
balustrades.
Nobody wants
to hear this but staircases and balustrades built properly and compliant are
expensive and whilst the “guy” that somebody knows may quote you a low price
you can be certain that it is neither safe nor compliant. Everyone knows
what a staircase looks like and anyone handy with tools can put something
together that looks like a staircase or a balustrade but it is not suitable
for the purpose, not safe, not structurally sound and not compliant and so
it will fail. Even a cheap staircase costs a fair amount of money, and
usually the cheapest priced job ends up being the most expensive when you
have to do it again.
Regularly we
get calls asking us to fix a poorly designed and built staircase, and many
times we have also put in an offer originally and the cheapest price was
taken and now they sit with the poor result and the expense of having to
start again.
A reputable
company cannot accept the responsibility and liability of trying to repair a
poorly designed and built staircase along with the risk to reputation and so
the only option is to tear it down and start from scratch.
The regulations
(building codes) make sense
Every country
in the world has regulations for construction, staircases and balustrades,
and whilst every country has slight variations they are all similar.
In South
Africa we are fortunate that our regulations are well thought out, practical
and comprehensive with all safety aspects have been considered. They have
been compiled by many experts and are improved often over time.
They are most
definitely not a nuisance and to be ignored, they are not there to waste
your money or your time. The regulations are there to save lives.
Think about this
scenario:
You have a
multi story building that has a fire and a few hundred people all rush out
to the fire escape staircase at the same time only to find a narrow rickety
staircase that is not built for the purpose and cannot carry all these
people at once. Everyone is in a panic and start falling over each other
tramping one each other and in the chaos the entire staircase fails….. It’s
an ugly ending and not something we want to live through, see or hear about.
It would be devastating.
The story
would have a much better ending if a suitable, safe and compliant staircase
was there that was built for the purpose, everyone escaped safely and lived
happily ever after.
Comfortable
Staircases
Steep
staircases can be difficult to climb and even dangerous; short steps and
tall risers make up a steep staircase making it easy to fall.
Shallow
staircases can also be difficult to climb; long steps and short risers make
up a shallow staircase, with shallow staircase your stride can become to
long to walk comfortable leading to the riser becoming a tripping hazard
especially if the treads are too long.
A comfortable
staircase is balanced between risers and treads. The golden rule in
architecture for staircases goes back as far as the 17th century
with Blondel’s formula which is a formula that calculates stairs that are
comfortable to walk on. The formula is (2 x the riser + 1 x the going)
2R+G=63cm/630mm, there can be a small variation on either side of the 630mm
for a staircase to remain comfortable, in SANS10400 regulations the range is
specified from 570mm - 650mm.
SANS10400
also specifies that risers cannot be more than 200mm, and in SANS10400 Part
S staircases for persons with disabilities a riser cannot be more that
170mm, in the same regulations the tread cannot be less than 250mm.
A maximum of
6mm variation is allowed on staircase treads: uneven staircases are
dangerous and become a trip hazard. Concrete staircases are notorious for
being uneven.
Open and Closed Staircases
A closed
staircase means that the staircase is fully enclosed with no openings, and
an open staircase has no physical riser and this area is open, SANS10400
calls for open staircases to have an overlap of a minimum of 25mm from one
tread to the next.
Open
staircases are typical in industrial environments, and have become very
popular in residential environments as they give an open and airy feel and
allow more natural light.
In SANS10400
Part S staircases for persons with disabilities must be closed
Staircase Landings
Landings need
to be at least the width of a staircase and not less than 900mm
Staircase Width
Residential
staircases must be a minimum of 750mm wide according to SANS10400, whilst
900mm minimum is usually better. Fire escape staircases will have a minimum
width according to the occupancy class of the building and the amount of
occupants, fire escape staircases start with a minimum width of 1000mm and
go up to 1800mm width.
Fit for purpose
As mentioned
previously staircases need a rational design and assessment and need to be
suited for the purpose they are intended, the regulations are comprehensive
and all of them cannot be specified in an article like this, a book would be
needed together with the full SANS codes.
There are
many considerations required when designing a staircase, and the intended
purpose and setting of the staircase needs to be considered along with what
materials are used to build the staircase.
Staircase
Structural Requirements
Anyone who
has walked on a rickety staircase that bounces or sway knows how one wants
to instantly clutch to something to feel safe. SANS10160 regulates the
structural requirements of a staircase, the purpose and setting of a
staircase will define its structural requirements.
A residential
staircase in your home would be different from a staircase in a public place
which would require a much stronger structure as an example, and staircases
used as emergency escape routes have additional requirements.
Staircases
that are outdoors also need to have additional considerations to internal
staircases as they are subjected to the elements like wind, rain, corrosion
which create additional forces and effects on the staircase.
Balustrades and
Railings
Balustrades
are used on most staircases like residential, public and commercial
building, whilst railings are used in industrial settings; the difference is
the size of the openings.
Railings consist of a hand and knee rail and SANS10400 requires that a sphere of
450mm cannot pass through any part of the railing. These are not allowed in
residential, public and commercial settings.
Balustrades consist of more components and SANS10400 requires that a sphere of 100mm
cannot pass through any part of the balustrade. This regulation specifically
takes old people and children into account to make the staircases safer for
them.
Balustrades with horizontal bars
Whilst
balustrades with horizontal rails are allowed in South Africa with the
exception of pool areas, they are completely banned in some countries for
public places. They are not encouraged especially for public places as by
their design they also form a ladder making it easy to climb and therefore
pose a danger specifically for children.
Balustrades
with horizontal bars are not allowed
as a pool enclosure in South Africa.
If
balustrades with horizontal rails are used they can be designed with an
offset handrail which makes them safer as by the nature of the design they
would force one to lean back if trying to climb them like a ladder.
Balustrade Height
SANS10400
specifies a minimum height of 1000mm for balustrades and railings; if
balustrades are used as a pool enclosure then the minimum height specified
is 1200mm.
The only time
balustrades are allowed to be less than 1000mm is if they are in front of a
seated area, like a stadium of theater as an example, in this case SANS10400
allows for a minimum height of 850mm.
Balustrade and
Railings Structure
Balustrades
are first a safety feature, aesthetics takes second place, the structure of
the balustrade is of critical importance as this is the “thing” that is
meant to break your fall, or the “thing” that you are going to grab on when
you lose your footing or slip and it needs to be able to perform and protect
in these instances.
SANS10160 and
SANS10140 specify the structural requirements for balustrades and railings.
Balustrades structure is something
completely ignored by many
who make them and by many who buy them and this is something that really
surprises me because balustrades are meant for safety. The reality is that a
poorly designed and built balustrade is actually more dangerous than having
nothing there to protect you as they provide a false sense of security and
you think you are safe and not aware of the danger, at least with nothing
there you would be aware of the danger.
Just like
staircases the law states that the owner of the property is responsible and
liable.
Balustrades
in public, residential and industrial environments have different
specifications required of them as all balustrades are required to be able
to withstand different forces.
A residential
balustrade for example would require lower force requirements compared to a
balustrade in a public place with much more people around them needing a
higher specification. There are tests that balustrades need to be able to
withstand, and allowable deflections which all need to be considered when
designing and manufacturing a balustrade.
The cheapest price can cost you your
life
Just like
staircases anyone can find a “guy” that someone know who can fabricate you
something that resembles a balustrade or a railing, but if it is not
structurally sound you cannot call it a balustrade.
Even more
than with staircases I have seen some really poorly built balustrades, some
that even a very strong wind will almost blow over; they are poorly
designed, poorly built with unsuitable materials, flimsy and badly fitted.
Then we get
people who enquire about balustrades and their only consideration is the
price, they have no concern about the safety aspects whatsoever.
The same goes
for some people who only consider the aesthetics with no regard for safety.
It is
something that frustrates me and that I fail to understand, especially if
it’s for your house meant for the safety of your family and those that you
love.
Properly
built compliant balustrades will cost more than the cheaper ones; they are
designed built with materials that are able to withstand the forces required
of them, it is easy to use lighter materials to save costs, it’s easier to
install with inadequate fixings.
Blue
Engineering will only provide balustrades that are safe and compliant, and
just like staircases we will not try fix, repair or modify badly built ones
because we do not want the responsibility and liability of the rubbish from
someone who gave or accepted the lowest price and we don’t want the risk to
our reputation being associated with this, the only solution is to remove
and start again.
Glass Balustrades
There are
additional regulations when it comes to safety for glass balustrades, these
are found in SANS10137 and SANS1263 and each piece of glass needs to have
the relevant SANS code etched into them.
Glass that is
to be used for balustrades needs to be toughened, needs to be thick as they
also are required to withstand specified forces for your safety.
Staircase and Balustrade Maintenance
and Corrosion
Staircases
and Balustrades require ongoing maintenance especially those that are
outdoors exposed to the elements, fixing needs to be inspected to see if
they are coming loose, timber to be checked for rotting and most importantly
any corrosion that weakens the structure.
SANS10400
states that once a balustrade has lost 20% of its original strength it needs
to be replaced.
In corrosive
environments like on the beach by the ocean this is even more important. The
staircases and balustrades should have been originally specified with high
anti corrosion properties.
Stainless steel
installed outdoors at the coast should be grade 316 as grade 304 will
corrode; stainless steel should also be highly polished to prevent corrosion
as bushed finishes will increase corrosion.
Mild Steel installed outdoors at
the coast should be fully hot dipped galvanised, if right on the beach solid
steel instead of tubing should be considered, and they should be painted on
top of the galvanising to protect it as the wind blows sand give a sand
blasting effect which erodes the protective galvanised layer
Aluminium does not rust but it can corrode, especially outdoors at the coast and
the protective layer can also be eroded by sand in the wind if situated by
the beach which will then allow for accelerated corrosion. Often aluminum
items are installed with stainless steel screws or have stainless steel
fittings. Aluminium mixed with stainless steel in a moist environment
especially if salt is in the mix creates a galvanic reaction which is an
electro chemical process where the aluminium acts as a cathode and the
aluminium being the softer material will sacrifice itself and completely
corrodes away at an accelerated rate.
PVC
does not corrode but when installed
outdoors and high exposure to the sun eventually become brittle over
time and loses its impact strength due to chemical reactions caused between
the PVC’s material properties and the suns UV rays.
Timber
outdoors and exposed to the elements will eventually rot and can be
infested by insects like wood Bora and ants, CCA treated pine will offer
good protection from both the elements and insects and certain hardwoods
like Balau perform well outdoors and have natural resins that protect them.
Timber requires high maintenance especially outdoors and outdoors usually
has a shorter lifespan compared to other materials.
Conclusion
Both Staircases and
Balustrades require rational design and assessment for safety and
are required to be structurally sound, there are many regulations in the
SANS codes that specify the requirements, both staircases and balustrades
need to be compliant with these regulations. They should be designed, built
and installed by a competent person or company.
The cheapest
price should be the first red flag that safety and compliance has been
compromised, in the end you the owner of the property is fully responsible
and liable and by accepting inferior products you can put the lives of those
you love and others at risk.
Please ensure
that when you are shopping for staircases and balustrades that you choose
competent persons or companies that will deliver you a product that is safe
and compliant with the regulations.
