I recently had an old client ask me if he could Remove his guard rail from his deck. His deck was less than 30 inches from grade, which is the typical minimum requirement for a railing. Also, that 30 applies to any grade surface horizontally 36 inches from the deck. In other words, if the grade was 40 inches from the surface of the deck only 2 feet horizontally from the deck, it would require a guardrail. This is a good rule of thumb, but may not apply to every jurisdiction. Please inquire with your county code official for your local restrictions. My client also asked if the 12 inch drop from one portion of his deck would suffice as a step. I informed him that a good rule of thumb in most areas is a riser height of around 7 and 3/4 inches. Some areas recommend 7 inches while other areas may allow more. So, to remedy his situation, I suggested that he install a concrete or paver pad at the location in question to raise the riser height of the step up to the deck to a safer height. Most areas require a 3 foot by 3 foot solid pad or walking surface at the bottom of exterior steps anyway.
