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Forum -> Judaism -> Halachic Questions and Discussions
Halacha about staircase balister banister height



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amother
Bisque


 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 2:22 pm
I’ve personally never heard of this Halacha. I’m building a house and the place who is doing the stairs informed me that they must do the stairs a certain way because of a Halacha about height/width in railings/panels etc. Does anyone have any idea what I am referring to? This is totally new to me.
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Blessing1




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 2:28 pm
There's a Halacha that one needs to put a gate on a roof of at least 3 feet. Maybe it also applies to staircase?
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amother
Azure


 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 2:32 pm
Never heard of this. And I've visited homes of very frum people who had staircases with no railings at all or very low and flimsy ones. Can anyone verify that this is a thing?
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CatLady




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 3:00 pm
I never heard of this, but each municipality has building codes. Since we are obligated to abide by the local laws according to halacha, this would be my way of looking at it. AYLOR, of course.
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self-actualization




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 3:08 pm
There is a halacha to protect people from falling from a height (I heard that the exact height was 6 feet, not 3). Which means that if there is a chance that someone could fall that far on your property, you are halachically obligated to put up a gate/fence so that they don't. The Hebrew word for it is "maakeh" or "maakah" and it's a Biblical commandment (I have heard it read aloud in the Torah reading - maybe in Mishpatim).
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Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 3:10 pm
There is a Halacha of ma'akeh. Build a ma'akeh on your roof so there won't be blood spilt in your house.

Whenever you have a surface above a certain height, you have to build a barrier of at least ten tfachim high to protect from falling. The passuk says roof, but we learn this to include any high surface such as a deck, staircase, landing, porch, balcony, and the like.
There may be halachos about how close the slats should be.
I have heard of a builder who measured a skinny baby's head to determine his maximum distance between slats/bars.
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Iymnok




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 3:12 pm
6 feet is the small measurement of 4 amos.
3 feet is about ten tfachim.

I am not familiar with the specifics of the halachos here, but please ask your Rav. Or look it up.
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doctorima




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 3:51 pm
I remember learning that the same laws of ma'akeh that apply to a roof also apply to a porch, deck, or staircase if they're over a certain height (3 feet?). Therefore, you are required to built a gate to protect somebody from falling and being injured.

There are halachos about how tall it must be, and it also makes sense that on a staircase, in addition to the required height, the slats must also be close enough together to prevent somebody from falling through.
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tulips12




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 4:14 pm
When I moved the non Jewish home inspector told me that the staircase railing is fine but not high enough according to Jewish law. I don't remember if it needs to be 42 or 45 inches high. I'm glad I raised it. It would have been nerve wracking with a low gate and kids.
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doctorima




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Oct 19 2017, 4:22 pm
I seem to also recall a height of 42 inches, though I'm too lazy to take out a tape measure to see how tall ours actually are.
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