Handrail Systems
HERMEQ supplies temporary handrail systems for construction, infrastructure and industrial sites, built from SG4 Shorguard handrail feet and high yield galvanised scaffold tube. The system is designed to go up without fixings into the structure, and the tube connects with standard scaffold fittings, so one set of components covers roof edges, slab edges, shaft openings and walkways. Both components are held as permanent UK stock and delivered nationwide.
Scaffold handrail components
A temporary handrail run is a galvanised foot under each upright, with scaffold tube forming the posts and the rails that span between them. Both parts are sized to 48.3mm, the standard tube diameter that scaffold couplers take, so the run is assembled with the fittings a site already uses and can be extended, turned at a corner or taken down and set out again on the next job.
SG4 handrail feet
The SG4 handrail feet, known on site as the Shorguard shoe or guardrail foot, sit at the base of each upright and hold it on the deck or ground. They are the right choice where the barrier has to stand on the surface without being fixed into it, and where people and materials still need to move freely underneath the rail. The galvanised finish and slip-resistant base suit runs that stay out in the weather for the length of a job.
High yield scaffold tube
The uprights and rails are cut from high yield scaffold tube. High yield steel allows a thinner wall than standard tube while keeping its structural integrity, so the tube is lighter to carry up to a roof or slab and quicker to load and unload.
Temporary handrails for construction
Roof edges and flat roofs
On roof-edge access and flat roof handrail work, the feet sit on the roof surface and the rail follows the perimeter, so roofers and maintenance crews can work close to the edge with the barrier already in place. Set the uprights out so that outlets, upstands and the access point onto the roof stay usable, and protect the membrane where each foot bears on it.
Slab edges on multi-storey works
Slab edges change as each floor is poured and the frame rises, so the handrail is moved up the building with the work. Stable footing matters most here, and the reinforced footplate of the SG4 foot limits movement where a slab is not yet finished level. Run the rail continuously past column positions so there is no unguarded gap at the edge.
Lift shafts and excavations
Around a lift shaft, riser or open excavation, the run has to close on itself with no gap at the corners. Couple the rails at every corner and at any access point, and around excavations set the feet back from the edge of the dig on firm ground.
Renovations and public areas
For small renovations, shopfits and temporary barriers in public areas, the compact feet and light tube make a short run quick to put up and clear away at the end of a shift. A tube rail gives the public a clear line to follow around a hazard such as a stairwell opening or a raised platform.
Handrail, edge protection or fall arrest
A tube and foot handrail is collective protection: once it is up, it guards everyone working at that edge or using that walkway without any action from them, and it suits a defined edge, a roof perimeter or a walkway route. Where the whole perimeter of a slab needs a full barrier with mesh infill to stop materials going over the edge as well as people, panel edge protection systems are the better choice. Where collective protection cannot be put in place, such as on a leading edge during steel erection, personal protection takes over, with fall arrest systems providing the anchorage and harnesses and lanyards connecting the worker to it. Safety fans protect a different group of people: they catch falling debris over pedestrian routes and work areas below the face of the building. For stairs and landings, a site stair with its own handrail is the right buy, and the stairways and bridges range covers that job.
Scaffold handrail lengths and layout
Most problems with a handrail run are settled before the order is placed, by measuring the edge and matching the tube and feet to it.
Tube lengths for the run
Scaffold tube is supplied from 1.5m to 6.4m, with cut-to-length available on request for non-standard runs. Measure the edge, mark where each upright falls along every bay and at every corner, then choose rail lengths that span between uprights with enough overlap for the couplers. Shorter tubes generally make the uprights and corner returns, while the longer lengths cut down the number of joints on straight rails. Count one foot for every upright, including those either side of an access opening.
Ground and surface conditions
Each footplate needs to bear fully on the surface, so decks are swept of debris first, and soft or loose ground is firmed or boarded under each foot before the run is set out.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What height does a temporary handrail need to be?
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 set a minimum height for the top guard rail and limit the unprotected gap between the rails below it. A toe board is also needed where materials or tools could fall from the edge. Set the height of the uprights so the finished run meets those requirements.
What is a Shorguard SG4 handrail foot?
SG4 is the foot of the Shorguard guardrail system, a galvanised steel shoe with a slip-resistant footplate that receives a scaffold tube upright. It stands on the deck or ground without being fixed into it. The rail can therefore go up on a finished surface and come down again without leaving holes to make good.
Is a guardrail the same as a handrail?
Strictly, a guardrail is a barrier that stops a person falling from an edge, while a handrail is a rail held for support on a stair or walkway. On site the two terms are used for the same tube barrier, and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 use the term guard rail.
Which scaffold fittings work with the handrail tube?
The tube takes standard scaffold couplers. Right angle couplers fix rails to uprights, swivel couplers set rails at an angle on ramps or stair flights, and sleeve couplers join two tubes end to end on longer runs.
What standard does the scaffold tube meet?
The high yield scaffold tube conforms to BS EN 10219-1, the standard for cold formed welded structural hollow sections. It is made from galvanised high yield steel.
Are the handrail components made in the UK?
Yes. Both the SG4 handrail feet and the high yield scaffold tube are manufactured in the UK, and HERMEQ processes steel in-house.