I’ve been to so many apartments, restaurants, etc where the railing was low enough that if you stumbled a bit or someone pushed you from behind, you could easily go over the edge. I’ve seen it happen to a friend of a friend who fell like 12 stories during a balcony party.
Is there a reason there aren’t more railings at high chest level, so the chance of falling becomes almost 0?
Comments
Code in most places says it needs to be a minimum of 36″ or 42″ depending on location and building type, so most people design to that because they don’t want to spend money they don’t have to.
Cost.
The minimum height is dictated by building code. Nothing stops someone from building a railing to any height. However a shorter railing costs less.
How is that height decided? Partly arbitrary. The municipality can decide the minimum height based on vibes. Usually they commission a study, or find a study, that shows railings at or above a certain height prevent an appreciable number of deaths. So while they might pay lip service to safety, it is just that.
Code says 42″ high. Some residential codes say 36″ is ok for single family home.
42″ is above most people’s center of gravity and is a comfortable height to lean, set a drink, etc.
I hate seeing balconies with horizontal bars, just ladders for little kids.
The reality is that minimum standards become expenditure ceilings to maximize profit without liability.
My wife had a student who pitched over a railing to his death some years ago, and the city code was for 36″ railings only so they couldn’t sue the building owners.