Building codes serve two purposes: Education and Enforcement. Too often the individuals and organizations involved are focused on the latter, and that’s a fundamental imbalance.
In this Professional Deck Builder report, long-time JLC contributors Frank Woeste and Joseph Loferski advanced a reasoned argument that there should be an ICC Guideline for deck handrails that provide a pathway to details that could eventually be adopted by the IRC.
An ICC Guideline is not a code or a standard; it would fall on the “education” side of the ICC’s mission, and serve as a recommendation. But in the long run, guidelines that educate builders, rather than punitive measures, may be the more effective way to affect real change and ensure public safety.