Hello forum! I've been lurking around here for a long time, but didn't have a reason to create an account here until now.
Last year, we renovated the exterior of our house, including the concrete staircase leading up to the front door and the landing, and since then we have wanted to get a sturdy railing for the stairs. Our choice fell on a company that could provide the railing at a (for us) good price.
This week, they installed the stair railing while we were at work (we didn’t get notice until shortly before they were to start, so we couldn't be there). When we came home, everything looked fine – until we saw that the railing doesn't align very well with the stairs.
The lower part of the railing is barely above the landing (which we have less of a problem with), but then the railing starts to bend downwards just before the stairs do. Instead of maintaining an even distance from the stair nose (is that what it’s called?), the distance increases all the way down to the ground level. This means that if you’re walking up, the handle is higher up than when you've actually reached the top of the stairs because the angle of the stair railing is different (less steep) than the stairs. I can post a picture (not home right now) later if you'd like to see.
When we contacted the company about this, their response was that they have followed the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning's regulations regarding railings and that this is how it must look.
I bought (albeit reluctantly) that explanation – until I myself started looking into the regulations. There is nothing about angles or anything else that says the stair railing must look the way it does now. On the contrary, it seems that the lower part of the stairs does not comply with the regulations, as the distance between the underside of the railing and the stairs is greater than what the rules state.
Does anyone have a grasp of the rules? Have I missed something? Are there other regulations that dictate how stair railings should look?
The top stair nose is positioned just above the lower part of the railing. From the second to last stair nose, it is approximately 20 centimeters up to the lower part of the railing. If the railing had extended a bit further, it would have been something over 20 centimeters up to the lower part.
If it now follows Boverket or not, it looks awful. They have simply measured wrong. It's hard to see in the picture, but is the post even vertical?
Have they taken responsibility for the measurement? Complain in writing.
Whether it follows Boverket or not, it looks terrible. They have simply measured wrong. It's hard to see in the picture, but is the post even vertical?
Have they taken responsibility for the measurement? File a written complaint.
Haven't checked the post's potential tilt, but at least they've measured everything themselves on site.
How do they mean that it is not possible to follow the guidelines? If you look at Boverket's own sketches of stair railings and stairs, the railings always follow the slope of the stairs?
How do they mean that it is not possible to follow the guidelines? If you look at Boverket’s own sketches of stair railings and stairs, the railings always follow the inclination of the stairs?
No, they meant that they have followed Boverket’s rules and that is why the railing looks the way it does.
There is a general regulation that no openings should be more than 10 cm for child safety reasons. Now, it is quite impossible for a child to hang from one or two steps up, but that might possibly be a reason why they haven't followed BBR.
No, they meant that they have followed Boverket's rules and that's why the railing looks the way it does.
/ Kiwi
Ask them to refer to exactly what in the BBR forces them to do it like that. I'm quite convinced they've done it wrong and are trying to lie their way out of it....
There's no logical explanation why the railing can't follow the stairs.
There is no logical explanation why the railing cannot follow the stairs.
No, we don't feel that way either.
Our hope is that someone responsible will come here and take a look, determine that something went wrong somewhere, and then say that a new railing will be made and installed.
I’ll keep an eye on the thread if more people want to comment. And I promise to keep you updated on how it goes.
They must have measured wrong or made a mistake when they built the railing. They don't want to cover the cost of redoing it. It's possible that it still follows the building regulations. But it definitely shouldn't look like that.
They had that railing lying around, and now they're trying to saddle you with their old junk.
Hope you haven't paid anything, don't do it.......
Someone needs to come and redo the whole thing, that's completely unacceptable.
Good luck with the complaint, which in my world is quite straightforward.
Feel free to get help from a tough friend if you're unsure.
Okay, one step forward and one (or two) steps back.
Yesterday, Monday, the company came to check out our railing. And no, it didn't meet the standard—they agreed. Phew.
We were told the issue could be resolved by bending the section at the stairs. We weren't entirely convinced about this. But at the same time... we're not craftsmen or railing designers, and we don't know what's possible. And of course, the company should be given a chance to solve the problem without starting from scratch.
Anyway, they were back this morning (Tuesday). After a while, my wife was called with the news that the bottom step had "burst." The person who made the concrete stairs once upon a time (long before we moved in) hadn't used only concrete but had put in a lot of large(?) stones to fill it out. So when the company was drilling a new hole, the structure couldn't hold anymore. However, they will fix the step.
What's worse is that the result of the bending wasn't good. It became mostly... bent. See for yourselves:
The bottom part of the railing now follows the stairs much better, but that's probably the only thing that turned out fine. But the supports(?) all have a slight S-curve. Both the top and bottom have waves. And the top has, right at the transition between the platform and stairs, developed a "pre-bend" before it bends downwards.
In summary: The angle is much better, but everything else looks terrible.
We've contacted the company again to say we're not satisfied. So far, we've only received an acknowledgment that they got our message, so I guess they're discussing how to proceed. Right now, the only reasonable way forward seems to be for them to redo the entire railing. Considering how "well" it turned out with the bending now, I don't think more bends are the solution...
Okay, one step forward and one (or two) steps back.
Yesterday, Monday, the company was on-site and took a look at our railing. And no, it didn’t meet the standards—they agreed. What a relief.
We were told the problem could be resolved by bending the part at the stairs. We weren’t particularly convinced by this. But at the same time... we are not craftsmen or railing designers, and don't know what's possible. And the company should obviously get a chance to fix the problem without starting from scratch.
Anyway, already this morning (Tuesday) they were back on-site. After a while, my wife received a call with the news that the bottom step had "exploded." Apparently, the person who made the concrete stairs once upon a time (long before we moved in) didn’t use just concrete but also put in a lot of large(?) stones to fill out. So when the company was drilling a new hole, the construction couldn’t hold. However, they will fix the step.
What's worse is that the result of the bending didn’t turn out well. It was mostly... bent. See for yourself:
[image]
The bottom part of the railing follows the steps much better now, but that's probably all that turned out well. But the bars(?) all have a slight s-curve. Both the top and bottom edges have waves. And the top edge, right at the transition between the landing and the stairs, has a "pre-bend" before it curves downward.
In summary: The angle is much better, but everything else looks terrible.
We have contacted the company again and said that we are not satisfied. So far, we’ve only received acknowledgment that they got our message, so I guess they’ll discuss how to proceed. Right now, it seems the only reasonable way forward is for them to redo the entire railing. Considering how "well" it went bending it now, I don’t think more bending is the solution...
/ Kiwi
Excuse me for laughing... But you almost get seasick looking at the mess.
Redo it, do it right. Simplest and cheapest for them.
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Rickard. said:
