6.6 Staircases

6.6.10 Guarding

Staircases shall have adequate guarding and be constructed to reduce the risk of being climbed or falling through.

Guarding:

  • is required where the drop is more than 600mm at any point along the open sides of stairs and landings
  • may be required where a stair abuts an opening window, to comply with relevant Building Regulations.

Guarding should be:

  • provided along the full length of the flight, including landings
  • capable of resisting forces, in accordance with Table 2 and BS 6180
  • a solid wall or balustrading
  • positioned at a height, in accordance with Table 3.

Table 2: Minimum horizontal imposed loads for parapets, barriers and balustrades for residential usages

Type of occupancyExample useHorizontal uniformly distributed line load (kN/m)Uniformly distributed load applied to the infill (kN/m2)A point load applied to part of the infill (kN)
Domestic and residential activitiesAll areas within or serving exclusively one single family dwelling including stairs, landings, etc but excluding external balconies and edges of roofs 0.360.50.25
Other residential ie, houses of multiple occupancy and balconies, including juliette balconies and edges of roofs in single family dwellings 0.741.00.5

Table 3: Guarding height

Type of stairsFlights – minimum guarding height (mm)Landings – minimum guarding height (mm)
Private stairs (England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man)900900
Private stairs (Scotland)840-1000900
Common stairs9001100

Balustrading should:

  • be fixed securely
  • not be climbed easily by children, eg have no horizontal foot holds which would enable climbing
  • not permit a 100mm diameter sphere to pass through any opening. (In Scotland and Northern Ireland the space between a rise in a stair and the lowest edge of the protective barrier may be larger than 100 mm, provided the lowest edge of the barrier is not more than 50 mm above, and parallel to, the pitch line of the stair).

Where guardrails or balustrades are long, newel posts may not be sufficient to transfer the horizontal forces to the structure, and intermediate posts may be required. The method of fixing newels should be specified, eg through-bolted to joists or alternative supports to an engineered design.

Last updated: 2nd January 2024

Back to top ⇧