2090 Bondsville Road
Downingtown, PA 19335
Downingtown, PA 19335
[p] 610.269.2062
800.575.5993
[f] 610.269.2068
[p] 610.269.2062
800.575.5993
[f] 610.269.2068
by John Maguire
It is important for aquatic facility design consultants and deck equipment manufacturers to be aware that the majority of a facility's users are often children, elderly and/or Persons with Disabilities. With this in mind, access and egress issues are of paramount importance when equipping today's facilities. Plus, new ADA requirements are making the selection of railings more important than ever.
Handrails are everyday objects in swimming pools and spas and, because of this, they are generally taken for granted. Handrails have always been essential safety and accessibility components to pools, but as far as design elements go, they can never be as exciting as new high tech lane lines or a high speed water slide.
Handrails do, however, perform very critical functions. They aid in the maintenance of balance while ascending or descending. They aid those with mobility difficulties in entering and exiting a swimming pool or spa using ladders, stairs, zero depth entries, transfer walls, ramps, and provide emergency support to regain balance if it has been lost. They also provide directional guidance for Persons with Visual Impairments.
New guidelines are now making the selection of handrails and grab bars even more important for aquatics facility owners and designers.
In September 2002, the United States Access Board, under the authority of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), published new guidelines that specifically address access for persons with disabilities to a variety of recreation facilities, including swimming pools and spas. These guidelines, issued under the ADA, are also applicable to facilities covered by the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), which requires certain federally funded facilities to be accessible.
The guidelines will eventually be part of the standards used by the Department of Justice to enforce the ADA and by other agencies for ADA enforcement. This will result in newly constructed and altered existing swimming pools and spas becoming more readily accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Previous studies commissioned by the United States Access Board determined that optimum railing graspability is best accomplished using a rail with a surface width or outside diameter (O. D.) of 1.25 to 1.50 inches.
The Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) and the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG) also address the issue of strength associated with rails used in public facilities. Their approach, covering all the requirements for handrail and grab rails designs, leaves no questions unanswered, thereby assuring public safety.
The new ADA guidelines for pools and spas reaffirm the long-standing ADAAG 4.26 standard for handrails that was specified in the original United States Access Board Guidelines related to the Architectural Barriers Act:
4.26 Handrails Grab Bars, and Tub and Shower Seats.
4.26.1 General. Many disabled people rely heavily upon grab bars and handrails to maintain balance and prevent serious falls. Many people brace their forearms between supports and walls to give them more leverage and stability in maintaining balance or for lifting. The grab bar clearance of 1-1/ 2 in (38 mm) required in this guideline is a safety clearance to prevent injuries resulting from arms slipping through the openings. It also provides adequate gripping room.
*4.26.1 General. All handrails, grab bars, and tub and shower seats required to be accessible by 4.1, 4.8, 4.9, 4.16, 4.17, 4.20 or 4.21 shall comply with 4.26.A4.26.2 Size and Spacing of Grab Bars and Handrails. This specification allows for alternate shapes of handrails as long as they allow an opposing grip similar to that provided by a circular section of 1-1/4 in to 1-1/2 in (32 mm to 38 mm).
4.26.2 Size and Spacing of Grab Bars and Handrails. The diameter or width of the gripping surfaces of a handrail or grab bar shall be 1-1/4 in to 1-1/2 in (32 mm to 38 mm), or the shape shall provide an equivalent gripping surface. If handrails or grab bars are mounted adjacent to a wall, the space between the wall and the grab bar shall be 1-1/2 in (38 mm). Handrails may be located in a recess if the recess is a maximum of 3 in (75 mm) deep and extends at least 18 in (455 mm) above the top of the rail (see figure 1).
4.26.3 Structural Strength. The structural strength of grab bars, tub and shower seats, fasteners, and mounting devices shall meet the following specification:
4.26.4 Eliminating Hazards. A handrail or grab bar and any wall or other surface adjacent to it shall be free of any sharp or abrasive elements. Edges shall have a minimum radius of 1/8 in (3.2 mm).
The new guidelines for commercial swimming pools and spas are presenting a quandary for some facility designers regarding railing width. Although the new ADAAG guidelines for recreational facilities specify handrails with 1.25 to 1.50- inch O. D., the swimming pool and spa industry's long established standard for railings has been a 1.90-inch O.D.
The 1.90-inch O.D. railing width is a holdover from the industry's beginning; when standard galvanized steel pipe (IPS) was used to fabricate deck equipment such as ladders, grab rails, and handrails. It was cut to length, threaded and screwed into galvanized iron pipe fittings, tees, ells, and crosses to facilitate the particular configuration requirement. Although fabrication of railings over the years has moved primarily to stainless steel tubing with better cross sectional areas for strength and stability, the 1.90-inch O.D. holdover has remained. Facility owners, equipment manufacturers and facility designers must no longer cling to the old standards that were established to accommodate the ease of railings manufacture. It is now time to address the specific needs of the individuals that these facilities serve.
Although ADAAG 4.26 had not generally been enforced in the aquatics industry, some pool and spa designers feel this is changing due to the new ADA guidelines established for recreational facilities.
"For as long as I have been involved in the business, which has been since the early 1970s, the standard has been 1.90-inch O.D. for railing material," says Scott Ferrell, principal architect for Aquatic Design Group, Carlsbad, Calif. Ferrell says his firm had never experienced difficulties receiving project approval with 1.90- inch O.D. railings specified. However, he has seen a subtle shift since the new guidelines for recreational facilities were introduced in 2002.
"During our last few plan checks, the checkers have gone out of their way to say: 'show me in your plan specifications where railing width is 1.50-inch O.D,' and that hadn't happened before," Ferrell says. "I believe we'll be seeing a steady shift towards the use of 1.50-O.D. railings, which will be reinforced not only by the new ADA guidelines, but also by appearance and function. Typically, when deciding enforcement priorities, health department officials or plan checking agencies will eventually meet at a conference and decide as a body to enforce the regulation. That has not happened yet regarding railing width, but it is coming. I think we're getting to that point very quickly."
Douglass Whiteaker, senior principal and director of aquatic design for Ohlson Lavoie Corporation Architecture & Engineering in Denver, Colo., agrees.
"There's been a definite shift towards requiring 1.50-inch O.D. railings in some states. In more progressive states, such as California, we now have to show in our plans that railing size is specified at 1.50-inch O.D.," Whiteaker says. "In certain other states, however, we have not. States with codes that are 20-30 years old have not caught up to the new guidelines. Also, many health departments are currently unable to revise their codes because there is no funding source to do so."
Ferrell at the Aquatic Design Group says his interpretation of the new ADA guidelines is that the narrower railing is now the specified standard. "And this has put the designer in a tough place. We can't do custom stuff on every job, that's just too expensive."
Recently, a manufacturer has begun fabricating 1.50-inch O.D. railings. Spectrum Aquatics,, Missoula, Montana., has made the tooling investment to manufacture a 1.50-inch O.D. rail goods line to comply with all requirements (including outside surface width and structural strength) outlined in section 4.26 of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Guidelines related to the Architectural Barriers Act.
"I believe we'll be seeing a steady shift towards the use of 1.50-inch O.D. railings, which will be reinforced not only by the new ADA guidelines, but also by appearance and function," says Whiteaker of Ohlson Lavoie. "We're finding the narrower railings are much more userfriendly. They provide a better grip not only for mature adults who have difficulty gripping onto things, but also better functionality for younger children with smaller hands."
As concluded by the United States Access Board studies, the use of a 1.50-inch O.D. grab bar or handrail better allows for the formation of a "power grip," so that the thumb and fingers can be opposed and the surface of the palm can be in maximum contact with the rail surface. The power grip also increases the area of contact between the hand and handrail, reducing the stress on the hand. Whiteaker says he also prefers the overall appearance of 1.50-inch O.D railings compared to 1.90-inch O.D. railings. "The narrower railing has a much nicer appearance. It's more streamlined and less bulky-looking."
Whiteaker also likes that the new, narrower railings being introduced are made using a passivated 316L stainless steel rather than standard 304 stainless. "The higher grade stainless has a tendency to resist the corrosive aspects of indoor environments much better than 304 stainless."
There are many approaches to assisting people in entering and exiting swimming pool and spas. Handrails and grab bars play an important role with most all of these approaches. Railings are for safety and accessibility. The number, placement, size and shape of railings are all critical factors when determining their effectiveness as accessibility and safety features.
John Maguire is the Engineering Manager of Spectrum Aquatics, a Missoula, Montana-based manufacturer of commercial and institutional products for the aquatics industry.
