Netting on stairs

[Jeff Beck]

I've never seen this before.

This deck stair had a mesh netting on both sides of the stairs instead of balusters.

There are a number of other things wrong with the deck but is this acceptable?

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Sorry for the poor picture.

It would appear to keep a toddler from falling through the space between the treads and the railing. but it doesn't add any structural support to the entire railing assembly like balusters would.

Everything that I can find in my reference books deals with balusters. I'd appreciate any comments this.

Thanks,

Jeff Beck

Foresight Inspection

[Chad Fabry]

You were there. Is it a hazard?

The entire stair set is a joke, why not just call it a safety hazard and recommend replacement of the assembly? It's inarguable.

[Tom Raymond]

Uhm, is it really any different than the lattice on the guard rail? Or the raised ends of the deck boards being a trip hazard at the top of the stairs?

Chad's right, but it doesn't end with the stair. That whole deck is toast.

Tom

[Jeff Beck]

No question that the deck is toast, I recommended that it be replaced from the ground up.

As I said in the original post, I had never seen this before. Does anyone know if everything else was correct, that using a mesh netting is acceptable?

Jeff

[Chad Fabry]

Does it meet the intent of the code? Is it that robust?

[Darren]

I would state the netting is not capable of withstanding 200 lbs of force; replace with another material capable of withstand the code requirement.

[Jeff Beck]

Thanks guys!

I couldn't wrap my mind (what little is left of it) around the netting being robust enough. All I could think of was the client's little kids.

I became a Grandfather for the first time last week and I admit to being preoccupied with "lil' chillen's stuff". I'm way behind on my spoiling quota with our grand daughter.

Jeff

[Jim Katen]

The netting is part of the "infill" area of the railing. As such, it has to be able to support a 50-pound load that's spread out across a 1 square foot area. I suppose that you could test it by cutting out a 12"x12" square of plywood, placing it against the net and pushing on it with 50 pounds of force. If the net deflects more than 1/240th of its span, then it doesn't meet the IRC requirements.

The handrails in your picture aren't graspable.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Tom Raymond]

I still find it very amusing that everyone is focused on the netting and not the lattice. That stuff is only visually more robust, I'd bet the deflection is pretty close to equal. It'd be pretty easy to get to L/240 at a about a tenth the required load with either material.

Tom

[Jim Katen]

I still find it very amusing that everyone is focused on the netting and not the lattice. That stuff is only visually more robust, I'd bet the deflection is pretty close to equal. It'd be pretty easy to get to L/240 at a about a tenth the required load with either material.

Tom

Hey, the man asked about the netting. If I started picking on everything in every picture that people post, I'd run out of digital ink.

- Jim Katen, Oregon