Balustrades add an important safety barrier to staircases, particularly if you have young children running up and down them. In our experience, we’ve found that even professionals can find the regulations here in the UK a little confusing and, as a result, think they need either a higher or lower railing than is necessary. This blog is here to clear things up.
Approved Document K of the Building Regulations has the most up to date information on railing/barrier heights and can be found specifically under the section named Protection from Falling.
The whole document can be viewed here but the main elements are summarised in the table below:
| Building Category | Location | Minimum height |
| Single family dwellings | Stairs, landings, ramps, edges of internal floors | 900 mm |
| External balconies including Juliet balconies and edges of roof | 1100 mm |
| Factories and warehouses (light traffic) | Stairs and ramps | 900 mm |
| Landings and edges of floors | 1100 mm |
| Residential, institutional, educational, office and public buildings, retail | All locations | 900 mm for flights, otherwise 1100 mm |
| Assembly | Within 530 mm in front of fixed seating | 800 mm |
| All other locations | 900 mm for flights, otherwise 1100 mm |
| Glazing in all buildings | At opening windows except those in loft extensions | 800 mm |
| At glazing to changes to level to provide containment | Below 800 mm |
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-from-falling-collision-and-impact-approved-document-k
Scotland has its own interpretation which can be seen in link below but follows the same guidance as that of England and Wales.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-standards-2017-domestic/4-safety/43-stairs-and-ramps/
To summarise:
- All staircase handrails for both domestic and non domestic properties need to be a minimum of 900 mm high
- In domestic dwellings, internal balustrades need to be a minimum of 900 mm high
- In domestic dwellings, external railings need to be a minimum of 1100 mm high
- In non domestic situations, balustrading other than on the staircase needs to be a minimum of 1100 mm high whether internal or external
Consider all aspects
The above guidance gives the minimum heights that the handrails need to be but there are situations where we would recommend that you set your handrails higher than the minimum specified. Such an example would be in situations where the balustrade is a barrier to a large void area – in these situations we often advise to increase the railing height to 1000mm in order just to give that extra sense of presence. Also, although a 900mm high handrail would feel relatively comfortable to some on who is 5’2” tall, it may not feel as comfortable to some one who is 6’2” for example and therefore it is important to consider all different aspects when deciding on your final balustrade heights.
100 mm sphere rule
In addition to the height of the balustrade, don’t forget that in the UK staircases must also be designed to ensure that a 100 mm sphere cannot pass through any area. This is to stop very small children falling through gaps or getting themselves stuck. This may affect the finished design of a staircase, for example meaning we have to install more spindles per tread than you will find in some traditional designs and fitting riser bars across open risers.
Get in touch
Hopefully this helps to clear up any confusion. If you’re ordering a staircase or balcony from us, you can be confident that the finished design will not only look the part and fit perfectly, but will be fully compliant with the relevant regulations here in the UK.
Visit our gallery to take a look at some great examples, then submit a quote request and we’ll help to create the perfect solution for you.
