You see handrails in buildings, especially the ones located by your staircases and balconies, I beseech you, to avoid those ones with round, shiny surface finish.
That was how Mama Nkechi visited her daughter at Lekki. This daughter lives in one of the most expensive areas and to worsen the matter, she wasn’t staying on the ground floor, and had no lift in the building.
Mama Nkechi struggled to climb up the stairs and when she finally got to the daughter’s apartment, she looked back at the stairs and made a mental note to reduce her staying time.
She did not think she could survive staying as long as she initially scheduled knowing that she had to use that staircase.
READ ALSO: The Nigerian Phobia for the Bachelor’s Pad Design.
- Modern Residential Balcony square railing_©istockphoto.com
When she entered the apartment, she settled in and strolled out to the balcony to take a whole view of the cityscape. She unconsciously leaned on the railing, her elbow slid off the rails and she almost fell off if not for the timely intervention of the daughter who was stepping out to the balcony.
Mama made up her mind not to near that railing as she sat back to regain consciousness.
Her other 2 daughters visited Mama at their sister’s house and in their excitement at Mama’s visit, took her out to have some fun.
Their excitement got to Mama, and she lost her balance while going down the stairs. She tried to grab onto the handrail, but it was no use, as it helped slide her to the bottom of the stairs.
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I know those round and shiny handrails, they look so posh, with lights reflecting on them. They make your interior look so good, but they lack efficacy when the need arises.
- Modern Residential Balcony square/rectangular railing_©designindulgence.blogspot.com
Round and shiny handrails have no surface friction and have no capacity to break a fall.
Those type of railings cannot be found in public facilities such as hospitals or old people’s residential homes because it does not meet Staircase code requirements.
I strongly suggest the use of square or rectangular handrails in buildings with a rough surface finish. The roughness on the surface helps create friction that aids in breaking a fall.
For tomorrow’s sake.
- A visually impaired man tracing his apartment with a guard rail
Consider the danger Stainless Steel Handrails with Glass poses to the occupants of your building.
Whenever a building material or element becomes a trend, before choosing it and adapting it for your building (whether public or private), weigh the pros and cons, especially with our lifestyle and culture in Nigeria.
During my University days, I observed the difference between the railing systems used in the administrative buildings and the ones used in the hostels.
Some of these handrails were changed over the years.
In the administrative buildings, balconies were protected and covered using what we call “fancy blocks”.
These fancy blocks were done from floor to ceiling, allowing no lingering, nor lean overs along the corridors.
For balconies along lecture halls, they used pre-cast concrete handrails at the regular rail height. Students could be seen leaning on them.
In the hostels, some had fancy blocks to create a visual shield from clothes hung on the balconies, and to create privacy as students went to and fro the general bathrooms.
Bigger hostels with courtyards had regular aluminium railings along the corridors.
In the male hostels, the aluminium railings did not last before the school upgraded to concrete walls along balconies.
Why?
Hostel fights.
Some fights were so violent that innocent people that were passing by along the balconies were pushed down as the railings gave way due to the force from the people fighting as they emerged from their rooms.
The use of stainless steel handrails with glass trends calls for concern. How toughened are the glasses?
I know they may be strong or made with plastics and covered with a film that even if shattered, will not piece through the skin.
When broken and shattered, what about the cavity it just created that poses a danger? An innocent bystander or even one trying to break up the fight could be flung through from a dangerous height.
You, dearest reader, might even be the unfortunate one.
Some of the metals attached to this glass for your grip are too slippery especially when water touches it.
Are you going to continue allowing the use of these elements in your homes and buildings simply because they may look beautiful now?
Are you ignoring the danger it poses to you?
I hope not.
You have a role to play.
