Raised trim at tread is trip hazard- IRC ?

[JPLomeo]

Just say this yesterday on my inspection where the owner-builder laminated the stairway too. I'm calling it a potential trip Hazard but can't find anything against this in the IRC? Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

Click to Enlarge

33.03 KB

[Jim Baird]

I have never seen such as this. How high is it? Are these treads nosed?

[Jerry Lozier]

Whether it is a code violation or not, they are paying for your opinion. It can be a trip hazard without being IRC violation.

My comment would be if I felt it was unsafe: "Raised trim on stairway steps is a potential trip hazard. For your families and guests enhanced safety recommend a qualified professional remove the trim so this hazard no longer exists"

[Marc]

Had one on a new construction last week.

Click to Enlarge

32.51 KB

He put the tread on top of the floor finish. It's a long way down.

Marc

[Steven Hockstein]

Just say this yesterday on my inspection where the owner-builder laminated the stairway too. I'm calling it a potential trip Hazard but can't find anything against this in the IRC? Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

Click to Enlarge

33.03 KB

Not to be picky (but this comment is -[:-bigeyes- sorry). I suggest you remove the word potential. I would just call it a trip hazard. Aren't all trip hazards "Potential" ?

I see this a lot when the stair treads are designed for hardwood and the adjacent floors are carpeted or covered with vinyl tiles.

[JPLomeo]

Thanks guys,

I agree that trip hazard is always potential, and wether it's in the code books or not does not matter- it not right and is unsafe-period

Thanks

JP

[Mike Lamb]

Take a look at ASTM F 1637. This is what attorneys will review in a lawsuit.

I had some communication with Doug Hansen a couple years ago about trip hazards and building standards. His reply to my inquiries about uneven/raised walking surfaces:

"Basically what the standard says is that the maximum deviation is 1/2 inch, and that any deviation over 1/4 inch has to be beveled."

This may also be applicable to your situation: ASTM, F1637-95, 6.1.2; F1637-07, 7.1.2 - Step nosings shall be readily discernible, slip resistant, and adequately demarcated. Random, pictorial, floral, or geometric designs are examples that can camouflage a step nosing.

I would consider that nosing to be camouflaged.

[Jerry Lozier]

Then a lawyer might say " What we have here is a 'potential' slip and fall hazard... Hardwood stairs needs that raised area so my client who always walks with his socks on doesn't slip, and if he does the raised area would keep his feet from sliding over the edge and him from falling"

The inspector should have recommended non slip steps.... hmmmm

[kurt]

I've been seeing this a fair amount the last couple years; DIY'ers putting down laminate flooring without a clue.

I've been calling it a trip hazard.

[John Kogel]

Maybe it's not finished. Glue rubber mat up to the nosing from here to here and be gone with the trip hazard. []

[Tom Raymond]

Floating flooring on stair treads is a bad idea. I recently replaced a floating floor on a landing that was oriented to slide out from under foot when you stepped to quickly on it.

[kurt]

I'm not seeing floating; that's insane.

I'm seeing glue down. Still a bad idea.

[Tom Raymond]

Those are float transitions/terminations.

[kurt]

I know, but I'm seeing them on glued treads. Mix and match, I guess.

[Tom Raymond]

I never see them glued. Brads maybe, but never glue.

[Garry Sorrells]

LP,

Was the riser flush to the tread and a transition strip added?

Did the tread extend past the riser by 3/4"?

Was the tread material a laminate or was it solid (such as BRUCE Flooring)? I ask because of what looks like a micro grove in picture.

Either way it's wrong...either in design or application.

Click to Enlarge

21.17 KB

[Garry Sorrells]

A little something to look at:[:-magnify

http://www.armstrong.com/pdbupimages/2127188114.pdf

Look at pg 390, 391 and 392

9. DO NOT USE THE STEP NOSE ON INDIVIDUAL STAIR TREADS.

K. FLUSH STAIR NOSE INSTALLATION FOR STAIR TREADS AND RISERS

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE: The installation of laminate flooring on stairs

is a fully adhered system. Under no circumstances should foam underlayment

be placed on stair steps or risers. This will result in an unsafe condition. Do

not use over-the-top step nose moulding on individual stair treads.

[Garry Sorrells]

Thought I saw installation instructions that may have been used. Despite Installation Instructions it will boil down to an argument over opinion and design. You will have to choose between personal opinion and manufacture installation instructions. Should the occasion arise.

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfIma ... 2360af.pdf

Page 8

Click to Enlarge

12.78 KB

[Eric B]

It's probably just me but "hazard" is a bit strong. I see it as no different than the media and their use of "crisis." After a while one becomes indifferent to overused terms. I prefer to find other ways of describing conditions and still get the point across.

[kurt]

If not hazard, then what?

HI's are big on false equivalence. How is a media darling using the term *crisis* exactly like an HI describing a hazard? If it's no different, it must be the same. How is it the same?

[Mike Lamb]

It's probably just me but "hazard" is a bit strong. I see it as no different than the media and their use of "crisis."

In the news I see Ebola, Ukraine and ISIS described as crisis.

The raised nose on the stairs is a hazard, or it isn't.

[Jim Katen]

The problem with a word like "hazard" when used all alone, is that it's imprecise. It means different things to different people, and it doesn't really describe the risk.

I'd just say that the raised edges on the stairway can cause someone to fall and be injured.

[kurt]

In advanced societies, folks develop words to describe things like conditions that could cause someone to trip or fall and be injured.

These same advanced societies have books of words that describe things. They're called dictionaries. If one looks in a dictionary, one will see that the single word "hazard" very accurately describes that condition that some folks choose to describe in entire sentences that provide no more clarity than the single simple word. I suppose there is the advantage of sounding like one is conversing with a 9 year old.

To each their own....

[kurt]

Because I'm a nerd, and because I have an endless fascination with words and their meaning, I had to dig into this and plow through my dictionaries, the internet, Wiki, etc.

Hazard is not imprecise. It is quite precise. The term is used extensively throughout all manner of studies involving risk and risk assessment. Not just extensively, it is the word used almost exclusively.

I also learned that the idea of a "potential" hazard is actually called a dormant hazard. It is a standard description in assessing risk.

[Jim Katen]

Just because it has a clear meaning doesn't mean that it's a precise description of a problem.