Hi Coach
I have a question about not reducing the path of egress travel. In the NCARB passing example they show the 12" handrail extension going into the 5' x 5' floor-level "landing" space at the bottom of the stairs (#2 marked on my drawing). I have the railing turned there to avoid encroaching on that space. My question is, when the code specifically calls out that the handrails cannot project more than 4" into the WIDTH of the ramp, stair or exit route what does that mean for the "length" of the exit route? Is the 12" railing extension at the end of the stairs opposite #2 (along the east wall) acceptable?
Is it acceptable in the area marked #1 that the 12" handrail extension encroaches into the 5'x5' clear space for the door opening? In #3 marked on the drawing, I made sure that I had a 5'x5' landing at the bottom of the ramp and put the sketch circle at the point where the railing is projecting only 4" into the sketch rectangle, but this is the "length" and not the width. In other words, can I put the 5'x5' rectangle directly at the end of the ramp?
I realize I could have made the stairs 44" wide instead of 60" and then I would only need a landing area of 44"x44" at the bottom of the stair, but I wanted to clarify the issue in case I run into this problem on the real exam.
Thank you!