Railings You Need to Open a Business

Can you believe it?! You’re fulfilling your lifelong dream; you’ve started a business from nothing and now are officially opening a storefront to grow your business even more.

There are a lot of areas you need to focus on when opening your business such as seating, displays, and other areas inside your business, but what about outside your store?

How are customers entering your business? Are there stairs, a ramp, or perhaps an elevator if you’re a big fancy business. Well, whether it’s just a couple steps or a large ramp, there’s railing that you will need to install or update before you open your new storefront.

In this article we will discuss why do you need railing, ADA code regulations for railing, and different types of stair and wheelchair ramp railings. And lastly, we’ll look at other ideas for railing around your business that you can install on your own to give your new storefront that “wow” factor. 

If you already know what kind of railing you want and have your plans drawn up, contact our team who would love to assist with getting your new project started today! 

 

Why Do You Need Railing? 

The answer to that is two-fold. Firstly, to be up to code. You’ll want to look at your local building code to see their specifications, but often they require railing that needs to be up to ADA standards. Your local municipality may have their own requirements, so we encourage you to check with a local code enforcement officer as well. 

Being up to code will ensure the safety of your customers and employees. Their safety is hugely important even when it comes to just a couple steps or a wheelchair ramp. Being up to code will also help your business when it comes to liability for your customers and employees. 

Secondly, they look nice and reflect positively on your business. Having a quality railing that is both safe and good looking will be a win-win situation for you and anyone utilizing the railing.  

Now customers aren’t going to be like, “Hey let’s go shop or eat there because their railing is incredible.” But having a quality feeling and looking handrail will help add to the curb appeal of your business and will help people feel secure when accessing your stairs or wheelchair ramp. 

 

Stair Railing Code Requirements 

When it comes to your front stairs, even if it’s just a couple steps, you need railing. ADA lays out a couple important regulations for your stair railing: 

• Handrail height needs to be between 34 and 38 inches.
• Handrails need to be continuous and smooth.
• Railing should have at least a 1-1/2 inch gap from any adjacent surface.
• Handrails at the top of the stairs need to level out and continue for an additional 12 inches.
• Handrails at the bottom of the stairs need to continue for the length of the depth of a stair tread.
• All handrails need to either end in a wall, a landing surface, or continue onto an adjacent handrail.

It is important to note that these all apply to the stairs inside your business as well. If you would like to read more about stair requirements, you can check out our more in-depth ADA Stair Guide. 

 

Wheelchair Ramp Railing Requirements

Similarly with wheelchair ramps, if you have a ramp, you need railing. It’s important to note that there needs to be railing on both sides of the ramp to make it safer for those who need to utilize the wheelchair ramp. ADA also has these additional wheelchair ramp railing requirements: 

• The width between handrails needs to be a minimum of 36 inches.
• Handrails need to extend 12 inches minimum past the top and bottom of the ramp runs.
• There needs to be a handrail or barrier that prevents a 4-inch sphere from passing through at the bottom of the railing.
• The inside of the handrail needs to be 12 inches from the edge of the ramp sides.

If you want to have a more in-depth look at wheelchair ramp railing, you can check out our comprehensive wheelchair ramp guide. 

And if you have any additional questions about ADA handrail requirements, you can view our full ADA Handrail Guide breaking down everything related to ADA handrails. 

(As mentioned, for both stair and ramp railings, check your local codes as they may be slightly different than those listed within ADA).

Stair Railings for Businesses

Now that we’ve gone over some of the requirements for your railing. Let’s view and discuss some examples of railing that’ll be perfect for your business that also meets ADA requirements. 

All these railings are made from galvanized steel pipe and fittings. Meaning they’re rust resistant and don’t have any welding.

With our modular pipe and fittings system, railings like this can be designed to fit whatever type of steps you have. Wood, concrete, or metal steps can all be outfitted with these styles of railings. 

They can all be easily assembled by anyone with just an Allen key and then mounted to the ground with a couple screws and a drill.

Wheelchair Ramp Railings for Businesses

Wheelchair ramp railings have a few more requirements as mentioned, but these examples below will showcase how our systems meet those requirements and can be modified to the different slopes and angles of wheelchair ramps. 

The railings above also show the different cases where you may need an additional handrail at the bottom of the railing to meet the 4-inch rule or they have an existing barrier with the ramp already that can help meet that requirement.

Like the stair railings, all these railings are made from galvanized steel and can be easily assembled with an Allen key and mounted with a drill.

Additional Handrails Around Your Business 

Handrails can be utilized in more ways than just for your outdoor stairs and wheelchair ramps. There can be other uses and needs for railings around your businesses that will help improve safety and organization. 

Sidewalks/Patio Railing

You may have sidewalks or patios around your business that you want to protect because they are attached to parking lots or near busy streets. These types of railings help provide a little more sense of security to your customers and additionally can accent the look of your business. 

 

Queue Lines

Now if your business has long lines (in which case great for you that means business is doing well!) but you may need ways to create a sense of order to those lines. Having railing like this can help provide a smooth order of customers and as well as keeping them safe if someone were to try and lean on the railing while waiting as well.

In Review

There are many things to consider when it comes to opening a business and what kind of railing you have may not be in the forefront of your mind.

It is important to make sure you don’t just have railing, but you have the right railing that is up to code, ensures people’s safety, and accents the look of your business.

If you are ready to get started on your new railing project, contact our team with your plans to get building your new business railing today!