Date of Graduation
12-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Landscape Architecture
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Landscape Architecture
Advisor/Mentor
Boyer, Mark
Committee Member/Reader
Erdman, Kimball
Committee Member/Second Reader
Hale, W. Micah
Abstract
Between 2003 and 2007, an estimated 11,120 Americans went to the emergency room as a direct result of a structural failure or collapse of wood deck railings. This is an average of 2,224 people each year. Furthermore, estimates show there are over 40 million decks in the United States and about half of these are more than fifteen years old, which is past their expected lifespan (Legacy Services, 2012). Decks are exterior structures susceptible to the elements that degrade over time, making the need for proper, safe construction techniques even more important. The safety of unsuspecting people who use decks and rely on the deck’s safety components is at stake. There is typically at least six feet between posts, obviously comprising the vast majority of the guardrail system of a deck. This space between the posts relies mainly on the cap rail and top rails to keep people from falling through and they also need to meet the 200-pound concentrated load safety requirement, but do they? That is the main question and area of research for this paper as there has been practically no testing done on this subject.
Keywords
Guardrails; Handrails; Guardrail system; Load safety
Citation
Buckner, B. (2013). Between the Posts: Research on the Cap and Top Rail to Guardrail Post Connection. Landscape Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/larcuht/5
