Spot the Violation

FramingStairs, guards & handrailsLevel 22018 IRC

Garage steps to the house door

Inside an attached garage, looking at the taped drywall wall between the garage and the house. A steel entry door into the house sits on a framed wood landing sheathed in OSB. A painted wood stair runs down from the landing along the drywall wall to the concrete garage floor, with three treads and four closed risers. The drywall above the stair is bare. A tape measure hooked on the landing edge runs down its face to the floor and reads 28. The rear bumper and a taillight of a parked car are at the left, and a light switch and a door-opener button are on the wall above the bottom of the stair. 28
Attached garage, steps up to the house entry door

What's wrong here?

  1. The stair has four risers and no handrail; at least one handrail is required
  2. The open side of the stair and landing needs a guard at least 36 in. high
  3. Because one side is open, handrails are required on both sides
  4. Nothing. This installation is compliant
Start this drill
Show the answer and the code reference

The answer

This flight has four risers and no handrail; R311.7.8 requires a handrail on at least one side of any flight with four or more risers.

Correct choice: 1. The stair has four risers and no handrail; at least one handrail is required

The handrail requirement in R311.7.8 is triggered by the riser count, not by the total height: four or more risers means a handrail on at least one side, 34 to 38 in. above the tread nosings (R311.7.8.1), continuous from a point above the top riser to a point above the bottom riser, and graspable (see the continuity and grip-size provisions of R311.7.8). Many people assume a short stair under 30 in. needs nothing, but 30 in. is the guard trigger (R312.1.1), which is a different rule. Garage steps are used with full arms, on wet or icy shoes, so this is one of the most-used rails in the house.

How to fix it

Install a graspable handrail on the wall side (Type I round 1-1/4 to 2 in. diameter is typical) on brackets into solid backing, 34 to 38 in. above the nosings, running from a point above the top riser to a point above the bottom riser, with ends returned to the wall or ending in newel posts, and at least 1-1/2 in. of clearance from the drywall.

Code references

  • IRC 2018 R311.7.8 — Handrails

    Handrails shall be provided on at least one side of each flight of stairs with four or more risers.

    Drills citing R311.7.8

  • IRC 2018 R311.7.8.1 — Height

    Handrail height, measured vertically from the sloped plane adjoining the tread nosings, must be at least 34 in. and not more than 38 in.

    Drills citing R311.7.8.1

  • IRC 2018 R312.1.1 — Where required

    Guards are required along open-sided walking surfaces, including stairs, ramps and landings, that are more than 30 in. measured vertically to the floor or grade below at any point within 36 in. horizontally to the edge of the open side.

    Drills citing R312.1.1

2024 IRC:renumbered to R320. The 2024 IRC moved handrail requirements out of the stairway section into a new handrail section; secondary sources give R320 (height at R320.2), with the four-riser trigger and the 34 to 38 in. height carried over. Exact subsection numbers not confirmed against the printed 2024 IRC. Confidence: low

Minnesota

MN adopts this rule as writtenConfidence: medium

Minnesota adopts the 2018 IRC with Minnesota amendments as the Minnesota Residential Code (Minn. Rules ch. 1309). No Minnesota amendment to R311.7.8 is known. Minn. Rules 1309.0311 amends parts of IRC R311 and is reported to spell out which stairways the section covers, including garage stairs; the Minnesota text could not be read here. DLI is adopting the 2024 IRC as the next edition; see the 2024 IRC note.

About the Minnesota Residential Code

Why the other choices are wrong

  • The open side of the stair and landing needs a guard at least 36 in. high. Guards are required only where a walking surface is more than 30 in. above the floor below (R312.1.1); this landing is 28 in. up, so no guard is required.
  • Because one side is open, handrails are required on both sides. R311.7.8 requires a handrail on at least one side of the flight; a single rail on the wall side would satisfy it.
  • Nothing. This installation is compliant. The handrail trigger is the number of risers, not the height: any flight with four or more risers needs a handrail (R311.7.8).
Safety hazardLevel 2 · Journeyman#stair#handrail#garage#four risers

More in Stairs, guards & handrails

Stairs, guards & handrails (5)Framing drillsAll drills