Guardrails & handrails. Code-compliant guards for stairs, mezzanines, platforms.
42" industrial guards with mid-rail and kick-plate, swing gates and pallet-drops at mezzanine edges, handrails sized to the application — all designed to OBC §3.3.1.18, fabricated under CSA W59, and installed alongside the stair or mezzanine they serve.
What we ship
Guards, gates, handrails — engineered, not catalogue.
Most guardrail work we do is built into a larger project — a mezzanine, a stair tower, an exterior egress retrofit. We also do guardrail-only scopes: rooftop perimeter guards, stand-alone catwalk rails, mezzanine-edge upgrades after a code review. Either way, the guards are engineered to the OBC load case (200 lb concentrated at top rail), not pulled from a stock catalogue.
What we build
- 42" industrial guards — code-standard with 21" mid-rail and 4" kick-plate.
- Stair handrails — both sides on egress, hand-grip diameter sized for closed-fist grip.
- Mezzanine swing gates — self-closing or self-latching, 42" guard height continuous.
- Pallet drops — counter-balanced gates at mezzanine pallet-drop locations; one side always closed.
- Rooftop perimeter — non-penetrating guards on flat roofs (no roof-membrane penetration) or anchored guards.
- Catwalk rails — for elevated walk platforms and conveyor service routes.
Infill options
- Pipe — 1.5" Sch 40 pipe; classic industrial.
- Square tube — 2x2x1/8" HSS for a sharper visual line; same OBC compliance.
- Tube + wire mesh — when a 4" sphere can't pass through (residential, some commercial code envelopes).
- Tube + vertical pickets — architectural visible work, residential conversions.
Detail decisions
- Post spacing — typically 60" – 96" on centre, sized to span and load.
- Base connection — bolted plate to deck or welded to deck framing; engineered as a moment connection at the post-base.
- Toe plate / kick — 4" tall continuous, prevents tools and material from rolling off the edge.
- Top-rail load — concentrated load at any point: 0.9 kN (~200 lb) for non-public guards; 1.0 kN (~225 lb) for places of public access.
- Hand-grip — 30 mm – 40 mm diameter for closed-fist grip on stairs.
Typical parameters
- Guard height42" industrial (OBC §3.3.1.18) / 36" residential
- Top-rail load0.9 kN / 1.0 kN public
- Mid-rail21" off deck
- Kick-plate4" continuous
- Sphere test4" max opening (where required)
- Finishshop primer / galvanized / powder-coat
- Lead time2 – 4 weeks (stand-alone scopes)
Related
- All steel stairs & industrial stair systems
- Mezzanines pillar — guards integrated with mezzanine deliveries
- Egress staircases — guards as part of egress design