A public school located in Manhattan, NY planned to increase its student capacity by constructing a new building. Our job was to do the steel detailing and prepare the shop drawings for the guardrails and handrails that were a part of several entrance ramps and stairs that served the new building. Pictured below is one of the entrance ramps we detailed.
Steel Handrail and Guardrail Shop Drawings
Steel handrails and guardrails are the miscellaneous metal items that make the daily passage of students, parents, and teachers through entrances a safe process. A low railing, widely spaced pickets, or any other configuration that doesn’t meet building code can lead to injuries for anyone who relies on them to traverse stairs or ramps.
The Ramp
Taking a quick glance at the 3D ramp model pictured above may lead you to think the ramp railings are simple. But in reality, a lot of thought went into the steel detailing and drafting to make sure every item was in place. We had to confirm that the guardrail and handrail heights, post spacing, picket spacing, slopes, anchoring, and everything else was detailed in accordance with ADA standards and the IBC.
Elevations and Connection Details
Also, our mission wasn’t just to detail code compliant railings. We additionally made sure that the fabrication process was easy. And the same thing went for the steel transportation and erection processes.
For this project, we sized and detailed the steel members to minimize waste, allow for easy transport, and make the most of all the cut steel.
As shown in the drawing sheet above, instead of using steel base plates, we embedded the steel posts six inches into the concrete using a core drill and grouted them with Hilti epoxy. This approach reduced fabrication time and, more importantly, improved the finished floor’s appearance. Only circular holes appear in the 7½-inch granite edge, and the holes closely match the diameter of the posts with minimal tolerance, giving the ramp and the bottom of the railing posts a neat, precise look. Enlarged connection details of this post embedment detail are shown below.
Plan View of Ramp and Steps
We drafted the plan below to make the erection process clear to the contractor, showing all the dimensions and railing locations. We also took sectional views at all the locations to show all the details at each different location for this railing.
The railings are marked as shown, and each marked railing has its own dimensions, sectional view, and assembly drawing.
The dimensions shown on the drawings are to ensure the accessibility of the ramps and stairs under the load of students at the start and end of the day.
In the end, when the school opens, teachers and students will use these ramps and stairs every day, holding the railings without ever thinking about the design work that went into keeping them safe. No one will think about the shop drawings or the detailing behind those stairs, and that is okay. Our reward is in doing the steel detailing and preparing shop drawings that give peace of mind during and after installation.
Contact
I’m Brian, the owner of DraftingServices.com LLC. I’m located in NYC, but I take on projects from across the nation. Let’s talk about your needs. Contact me today at 718.441.3968, text me today at 646.504.5230, or email me today at brian@draftingservices.com.