Side-mounted modular handrail

What it is

A side-mounted (fascia-mounted) handrail is fixed to the vertical face of the edge member instead of the walking surface. World Steel’s WS-MH-200 uses a stanchion with a welded side bracket bolted through the web of a channel or beam, or anchored into the edge of a concrete slab. Above deck level it is the same system as the top-mounted guardrail – the same rails, fittings, toe boards and gates.

Side mounting is chosen where every millimetre of walkway width counts, where the deck is grating or chequer plate that should not be drilled, or on stair stringers and mezzanine edges where a fascia fixing simply looks cleaner.

Types and options

Design and compliance

Heights, rail loads and openings follow OSHA 1910.29, AS 1657 or EN ISO 14122-3 exactly as for the top-mounted system. The difference is the fixing: a side bracket transfers the barrier load into the web of the edge member as a moment, so the bolt group, the web thickness and the torsion of the edge member are checked. Where the edge member is light, a stand-off bracket bolted near a stiffener or cleat is used.

At toe-board level the gap between deck and toe board must stay within the code limit; World Steel details the toe board on the inside face of the stanchions so the gap is closed.

Installation and selection

• Drill or punch the edge member in the shop – holes are detailed in the steel model when the handrail ships with the structure.
• Bolt the stanchions, check verticality with the bracket packers, then fit rails and toe boards.
• For concrete edges use the anchors in the fixing kits, with the edge distance checked.
• Specify the edge member, bracket type, code and finish.

Fabrication and finishing at World Steel

Every WS modular handrail component is made in the World Steel plant in Vietnam: tube and bar are cut on saws to the component schedule, stanchions are welded to base plates, brackets or socket spigots on jigs so that rail heights repeat exactly, and fittings are fabricated from heavy-wall tube and plate, drilled and tapped for their locking screws. Welding follows qualified procedures under ISO 3834-2 and the AS/NZS 5131 and EN 1090-2 systems our certifications cover.

Components are then hot-dip galvanized as single pieces – which is only possible because the system is modular – giving full internal and external zinc coverage with no site welds to repair afterwards. A safety-yellow or architectural topcoat can follow. Parts are marked with their WS code, bagged by type and packed by area for export shipping, together with the structural steel or on their own.