Accessible handrail for ramps & stairs

What it is

The WS-MH-800 accessible handrail is a handrail system for ramps, stairs and walkways that people with limited mobility, vision or strength must be able to use safely: public buildings, schools, hospitals, transport interchanges, car parks and the public parts of industrial sites. Compared with an industrial guardrail it is a gripping rail first and a barrier second. It is round, smooth and continuous, sits at a defined height with clear space for the hand, runs without breaks over landings and turns, and extends past the top and bottom of each flight so a person is steady before the slope begins.

The handrail can be mounted on posts along an open edge – often combined with a commercial balustrade or architectural balustrade that provides the barrier – or carried on wall brackets along a wall. Stair runs use the same parts as the WS modular stair handrail.

Key dimensions by region

Each market defines the rail in similar but not identical terms. World Steel sets the post fittings, brackets and extensions to the code named in the contract documents.

In Europe, EN 17210 sets functional accessibility requirements, including handrails on both sides of stairs and ramps, and national building rules give the exact heights. Where a second, lower rail is wanted for children or people of short stature, a dual-height arrangement is fitted on the same posts.

Design and compliance

Accessibility codes set geometry; structural codes set strength. The rail, posts, brackets and fixings are designed for the handrail loads of AS/NZS 1170.1, EN 1991-1-1 or ASCE 7 (50 lb/ft and a 200 lb concentrated load in the US). In Australia the NCC calls up AS 1428.1 for accessible ramps and stairs; in the US the 2010 ADA Standards apply together with IBC Section 1014 handrail rules; in Europe national regulations implement accessibility in line with EN 17210.

Details matter to users: brackets attach to the underside of the rail so the hand can slide along without obstruction, ends return to the wall, post or floor so clothing cannot catch, and joints are flush. Where the handrail sits beside an edge that needs a barrier, the barrier height and openings are checked separately – see design loads.

Fabrication and finishing at World Steel

World Steel bends rails, extensions and returns from tube on mandrel benders, cuts and drills posts, base plates and brackets, and welds them on jigs so that rail heights and bracket offsets repeat along every flight. Stainless rails are welded to qualified procedures under AS/NZS 1554.6, EN ISO 3834-2 and AWS D1.6, then ground and polished to a smooth, continuous grip surface; carbon steel parts are hot-dip galvanised by qualified galvanisers and can be powder coated in a colour that contrasts with the wall behind. Our AS/NZS 5131 CC3 and EN 1090-2 certifications cover the welded steelwork.

Handrails can be packed with the stairs and ramps they serve – for example with steel stairs – or shipped on their own, marked by flight and level.

Installation and specifying

• Fix posts or wall brackets to structure that can take the handrail loads; hollow walls need backing or through-bolts.
• Fit the rails, extensions and returns, then check height and clearance at every nosing and landing before the final tightening.
• Specify the governing code, sides (one or both), single or dual height, mounting, material, finish and colour contrast.