Handrails and Railings in Lancaster, CA

A handrail and a guard are separate things that often end up welded into one piece. The handrail is what your hand holds going up the steps. The guard is the barrier along the open side of a porch, landing or raised deck. Plan check looks at each against the code in force, so we build to what the inspector measures from the finished surface and do not print a height here.

Rails fail at the bottom, not the middle. A baseplate on top of a step puts its anchors near the nosing, the weakest concrete on the tread. A side mount moves the fasteners back from that edge. Coring the concrete and grouting the post in holds well on thick sound slabs, and it is the hardest to undo. On a stucco wall the bracket has to reach a stud or masonry. We choose once we see the concrete.

Rust starts inside the tube and at the base plate, where water sits. Tops get capped and low points get a drain. Galvanizing under a powder topcoat lasts far longer than paint, and the American Galvanizers Association puts that pairing at roughly 1.5 to 2.3 times the combined life of the two coatings used alone.

No job is too small. One short rail for a few porch steps goes through the Division Street shop the same way a long run does. Stop by on a weekday, 8 to 5, if you would like to talk it over in person.

This work runs out of our shop on Division Street in Lancaster. Read the full handrails and railings details, or call (818) 220-8704 and we will come out.