Building a deck on your home allows you to expand your sitting area and create a space where you can enjoy the outdoors and the view on your property while still being secure and off the ground. Deck construction comes with a lot of different decisions that you'll have to make, and those decisions increase when you build a deck with ground-level stairway access. Before you finish the construction plans for your deck and stairs, you should give careful consideration to the type of handrail you'll use. Here are a few reasons why you should think about using a round handrail on your deck's stairs.
Easier To Grasp
When compared to the wide rectangular handrails and some of the other designs, round handrails are usually easier to grasp. You can put your hand completely around the handrail, which improves your grip and makes navigating the stairs safer. If you're worried about the handrail being slippery or causing splinters, have it coated with a traction coating to help maintain grip when walking down the stairs. The ability to grasp and hold onto the rail easily is especially important when you have children in the house, and also when you have family members with mobility or stability issues. Consider these factors when you're looking at handrail designs.
Resists Ice Buildup
One of the great things about round handrails is that things tend to run off them far better than they do with handrails that have flat surfaces. That means that ice and snow won't build up near as much on a round handrail when compared to flat, rectangular handrail designs. If you live in an area where winter weather can bring these types of hazards, a round handrail can help ensure that you don't struggle with excess ice or snow buildup on the rail.
Resistant To Pests
Flat handrails make ideal places for pests to lay eggs, nest, and burrow. Especially when you have an area where bees are a problem, flat handrails create the perfect shelter for a nest, which can result in stings when you walk down the stairs using the handrail and inadvertently disturb or threaten the nest. With flat handrails, the width can often make it hard to detect these nests until they are substantial in size, at which point you've already likely been dealing with the safety threat. Round handrails don't offer the same level of shelter or surface area for pest infestations or nesting. Additionally, because of the design and diameter of a round handrail, you'll be able to more easily identify problems with nest formations and other similar threats.
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