To add a handrail in Advance Steel, start Hand-Railing (Home tab > Extended Modeling panel), select the beams or stringers the railing sits on and press Enter, then pick the start and end points. Answer whether you want a nosing point (Enter for No), and the railing is created. The dialog that opens controls the posts, rails, pickets, kick rail, ends and post connections.
Railings in Advance Steel are separate objects from the stairs. That’s the right way to do it, because plenty of stairs go out without railings, and each side of a stair can get a different railing. Below is every part of the railing dialog, the code rules to check, and the mistakes to avoid.
Railing and guard heights, opening sizes and handrail sizes are set by the building code, and post and connection sizes by the engineer. Check the code your project uses and the engineer of record before you detail a real railing.
Where is the Hand-Railing tool?
Home tab > Extended Modeling panel > Hand-Railing:
Extended Modeling tab > Structural Elements panel > Hand-Railing:
How do I add a handrail in Advance Steel?
- Start Hand-Railing.
- Select the base beams (the stringers or beams the posts sit on) and press Enter.
- Pick the start point and the end point of the railing.
- At Do you want to select a nosing point relative to the start point? [Yes/No], type Y to pick a nosing point, or press Enter for No.
The railing is created:
And the dialog opens:
How do I set up the posts?
Post tab
- Section. The post section.
- Post alignment. How the post sits on the beam: Top (default), Left or Right.
- Post alignment from edge. Only with Top alignment. Offset from the edge of the beam.
- Offset. Only with Top alignment. Offset from the center of the beam’s top face.
- Rotate with. Only for rectangular or angle posts. Rotates the post.
- Post offset along rail axis. Moves one post along the rail. Use the spinner to pick the post number, then type the offset.
Post layout tab
- Points at position of posts. Puts posts at the start and end points you picked.
- Prefer distance 1 and 2. Lets you set the distance from the start to the first post and from the end to the last post.
- Use horizontal distance on slope. Spaces posts by horizontal distance on a sloped stair.
- Prefer max. distance between posts. Advance Steel works out how many posts you need from the maximum spacing you type.
- Number of posts. Only when Prefer max. distance is unchecked. Type the number of posts.
- Distance between posts. The post spacing.
- Calculate dist. for each beam. Works out the posts separately for each beam you selected.
- Move start / end base point. Moves the start or end of the railing.
Top handrail, middle handrail and kick rail connection tabs
These set how each rail connects to the posts. Pick the connection type from the list and fill in the values that appear.
How do I set up the rails and pickets?
Top handrail. Section, distances and a side offset if you need one.
Middle handrail, horizontal. Section and distances. You can add more than one middle rail and set the spacing between them.
Middle handrail, sloped. Middle rail distances on sloped beams. By default the distance from the bottom rail is measured vertically; you can switch to Measure dist. perp. to slope.
Pickets. Off by default. Check Use pickets and set the section and spacing.
Kick rail. Check Use kick rail and set the details. Use the alignment list to put it on the left or right side of the posts.
How do I join and end the handrails?
Handrail joints. On the Handrail tab, choose how rail segments meet: Miter cut (default) or Knee.
Handrail ends. On the End of Handrail tabs, pick the end type for the start and end of the rail and set its details. Check Same joint for both ends to use the same end at both ends.
The end types:
How do I connect the posts to the beam?
Use the Post Connection category. It sets how the posts attach to the stringer or beam, with all the connection details.
How do I add a grab rail?
Use the Hang Off Rail category to add a grab rail and set its section, connection and position. For a rail on wall brackets, use the separate wall rail tool.
What code rules apply to railings?
From the 2021 International Building Code:
- Guards (1015.2, 1015.3): needed where the open side is more than 30″ above the floor below, and at least 42″ high.
- Guard openings (1015.4): a 4″ sphere can’t pass through, up to 36″ high. Between 36″ and 42″ the limit is 4 3/8″. At the triangle formed by the riser, tread and bottom rail, it’s 6″.
- Handrail height (1014.2): 34″ to 38″ above the stair nosings.
- Handrail size (1014.3.1): round rails 1 1/4″ to 2″ outside diameter.
- Handrail extensions (1014.6): at least 12″ past the top riser and one tread depth past the bottom riser, unless the rail continues to the next flight.
On a stair with a 42″ guard, the handrail is usually a separate rail at 34″ to 38″. The 4″ sphere rule is why pickets at about 4″ on center are so common. Local codes change these numbers, so always check the code your project uses.
What mistakes should I avoid with railings?
- Picking the wrong base beam. The posts sit on the beams you select first. Select the stringer, not the tread.
- Picket spacing by eye. Space them so a 4″ sphere can’t pass, measured between pickets, not center to center.
- Forgetting the kick rail on platforms and landings where it’s required.
- Post spacing. Post size and spacing depend on the guard loads. Get them from the engineer.
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