Guards and Railing requirements not quite matching up

by Sam
(Arvada, CO)

Our deck is under 30" in height, however I cannot get the risers on the steps to be only 3. So that would be two treads.

We always end up with 4 risers or three treads.

The deck height at the stair location is 26". With a max riser of 7.75" this requires 3+ risers.

This means I have to have a railing. We would like not to have a guard around the deck, but the stairs are mid span on each side of the deck.

Putting railings on just the stairs looks goofy.

Any ideas?

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Jun 24, 2012
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Add more soil around edge of deck?
by: Editor-Rich Bergman

There is no way around the math you are describing. However, you might be able to distort reality a little bit and end up with what you want.

Its a bit of work but not too much. What you might do is bring in some fill and build up the grade (soil) around the critical areas of your deck to get you to the elevations you desire.

This is the simplest solution I can think of. Anyone else with a better idea, please chime in.

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