Deck Railing and Loads - Horizontal and Vertical
If you want to build a deck railing guard or handrail that will meet the IBC and IRC railing loads requirements for a one or two family dwelling, read the important points below:
Also keep in mind, this is just a general summary. For the actual test methods, details and limits, you should get a copy of Acceptance Criteria for Handrails and Guards - AC273/ASTM D 7032.
In-Fill Load Test
This is a test to measure the strength of the load resisting elements between the posts such as balusters, spindles or panel fillers. An area the size of one square foot must handle 125 lbf.
Uniform Load Test
This test is where the top rail of the guard system has to sustain a maximum uniform load of 125 plf applied vertically or horizontally.
Concentrated Load Test for Guards
In this test the top rail of the guard system must hold a point load of 200 lbf and the deflection at the loading point must be within certain limits based on the post spacings.
This is done at several points along the rail - mid span, adjacent to a post and at the top of a single post.
A safety factor of 2.5 is applied to the 200 lbf becomes equivalent to 500 lbf when administering a test.
Building Code Standards
Please note that the standards in the diagram below do not reflect the safety factor of 2.5 so long as an engineer approves your railing design using standard engineering principles.
The 2.5 safety factor only comes into play when a specific test for a product is required.
