Ideas for constructing some kind of hand rails in this rock wall?q

[jymbee]

I used to be the only using these steps I built but now other, less "agile" family members would like to use them as well IF I could build some kind of handrail for balance & safety.

Perhaps drill anchor holds in the rocks and put in poles connected by... ? Any specific advice as to materials I might be able to use would be appreciated.

 

[grsthegreat]

If it was mine, id set handrail into the ground, not the rocks. Drilling rocks might cause them to split

 

[bdhsfz6]

I constructed a handrail for a friend at his lake house using 1" galvanized pipe. He had a similar stacked stone stairway leading down to the lake. We screwed pipe flanges to the rock in some places and in others, drove sections of pipe into the ground. Drilling 4 - 3/8" screw anchors in the rock to hold the flange didn't cause any splitting.

Rented a power bandsaw and a pipe threader for a weekend and connected everything together with a Stillson wrench. Used a lot of galvanized pipe fittings and bent the pipe with a torch where necessary.

Remarkably sturdy for 1" pipe and works well for steadying yourself on the stairs. That was 18 years ago and it's still in use.

 

[2manyrocks]

I am curious why you wouldnt set some posts in the ground and nail up handrails?

 

[ning]

Looks like you've got wood posts off to the right - can you hang a handrail off of those with some sort of bracket setup?
May be able to do something temporary and see how much actually use it gets before investing the effort into something that matches the aesthetics, if possible.

I doubt the rocks are a good anchor; consider the lever effects of a post attached to the rocks - unless they're a lot bigger and deeper than it looks, I think they'd get yanked out of the path in no time.

 

[flyerdan]

We did these all the time, estimator would make a templet for the spacing and angles for the slope and any curves during the run. I'd make that one out of 1.625" tube, should only need three posts set if it's as short a run as it looks.
Auger out the holes first, so if you encounter a rock or other immovable object you can make the templet fit the terrain.

 

[jymbee]

I am curious why you wouldnt set some posts in the ground and nail up handrails?

There's a series of conduits under these steps for main primary power line, phone line, water line out to the garden etc. They're spaced out a bit and not exactly sure of their precise location.

I've revisited images I took when building and have a pretty good idea, but not inclined to give it a try.

Your forum user name is another reason. Hard enough to get a tent stake in the ground around here not to mention something like this.

 

[jymbee]

Looks like you've got wood posts off to the right - can you hang a handrail off of those with some sort of bracket setup?

Yeah, those are 6x6 posts that support that portion of the main deck and I have looked at that as a possibility but the logistics of trying to make that work given the odd spacing and distance away just don't really work.

 

[jymbee]

I doubt the rocks are a good anchor; consider the lever effects of a post attached to the rocks - unless they're a lot bigger and deeper than it looks, I think they'd get yanked out of the path in no time.

The pic doesn't show it but these are pretty large rocks. Several hundred pounds at least for the most part. Maybe I'll take a shot with some kind of reference to give a better idea of the sizes and distance involved.

 

[etpm]

I needed to put a stout handrail up the center of the steps to my house. I bought some wrought handrail stock from Everett Steel that they stock. I made the uprights from 1.25" square tubing. I welded feet on the tubing and set the tubing on my stair steps. I snapped a line across the tops of the tubing to get the angle correct and sawed the tops at the snapped line. I then bolted the uprights to the stairs and laid the handrail on top of the uprights and welded them in place with a small wire feed welder. I think you could do something similar with pipe and flat stock. My handrail needed to be aesthetically pleasing, and it was and is. your handrail maybe just needs to be functional.
Eric