Stainless steel handrails for Dublin apartment blocks
Communal stair cores take more abuse than any stair in a private house and are inspected far more often. Stainless handrail is the default specification for good reasons, but the grade and detailing decide how well it ages.
Grade 304 or 316
Grade 304 stainless is the normal choice for internal handrail in a dry, heated stair core. It holds a clean finish and is easy to maintain. Grade 316 contains molybdenum, which makes it far more resistant to chloride attack, and it is the right choice for anything external or anywhere near salt air.
Around Dublin Bay, from Sandymount out to Clontarf and Dún Laoghaire, we recommend 316 for external balustrade and balcony rails. The price difference is modest next to the cost of replacing tea stained rails after five years.
Continuity and compliance
In communal areas the handrail generally needs to be continuous, graspable and set at the heights required by Part K and Part M, with returns at the ends so nothing catches on clothing. Joints should be welded and polished rather than relying on visible connectors.
Guarding to the open side of the flight has to satisfy the height and 100mm gap requirements as well, so the handrail and the guarding are designed as one system.
Fixings that stay tight
The most common defect we are called to in existing blocks is loose brackets. Handrails get pulled on constantly, and a bracket fixed with a short plug into plaster will eventually work free. Fixings need to reach structure, and the bracket spacing needs to reflect real use rather than the minimum.
We fabricate brackets and core drill or plate fix into the structural substrate, and we will tell you when the existing wall build up cannot take the load.
Refurbishment work
A large part of our apartment work is replacing tired or non compliant rails in existing Dublin blocks, often driven by a management company survey. We measure the existing core, fabricate to suit and install with minimal disruption to residents.
Programmes are agreed so that a stair core is never left without usable guarding while work is in progress.
Want this priced for your own job? Send us your drawings or a photo and we will come back with a fixed price, usually within one working day.
Common questions
Need this done properly? Talk to the workshop.
Send us drawings, a sketch or a site photo. We come back with a fixed price and a firm lead time, usually within one working day.