Commercial Timber Handrails (Barriers)

All commercial timber handrails are made from unseasoned Spotted Gum hardwood. They should be used in multiple spans for maximum straightness.

Some of these handrail profiles are complex to manufacture and may only be available as part of a larger order.

Please note that dimension changes cannot be made at all to many profiles. For those that can be altered changes require re-tooling which involves $500-$1000 of additional cost. Changes such as increasing the angle of the sloping top can cause the rail to be unstable due to differential moisture contents.

Please discuss with Outdoor Structures your specific timber handrail requirements prior to completing your project specifications.

Design Tools:

A series of Design Tools have been deveoped for Design Professionals, including dynamic blocks for Autocad. Please see:

Design Notes:

These handrail designs give attention to timber moisture shedding. Even with simple products, such as a dressed vertical rail, this eventually becomes an issue.

To assist you in determining your handrail requirements, please see our Aide Memoire (32 KB PDF).

Also see the Handrail System Bike & Disabled dimensions (96 KB PDF).


Handrail degradation	Vertical support degradation

All timber handrails should be fixed from underneath as top fixing will eventually lead to maintenance problems.

Commercial Timber Handrail Designs
Cruiserline Spacing 2 metres - Bikeway application shown.
Grab Rail Spacing 1.5m The grabrail handrail is intended to meet the requirements of the disability code. A range of custom made brackets are available but commercially available brackets have been modified by our customers.
Custom Rail 1 Spacing 2.5m Suitable for applications where a heavy look is required See Timber Handrails Design Tools
Custom rail 2 Spacing 2m See Timber Handrails Design Tools
Custom rail 3 Spacing 2m See Timber Handrails Design Tools	No image available
Custom Rail 4 Spacing 3.0m See Timber Handrails Design Tools	No image available
Custom Rail 5 Spacing 1.5m when used as illustrated The post system illustrated is available from Outdoor Structures
VR145/44 Spacing - up to 2.4m The curved top sheds moisture extending the life. Also available in 120x44 (VR120/44) and 95x44 (VR95/44)
HR145/69 or 44 The 44mm thick version of this rail is normally fully supported with a 95x45 underneath This handrail is also available in 170x44 (HR170/44) 145x69 (HR145/69) and 170x69 (HR170.69). The 69mm handrail does not have an antiwarp groove

Queenslander Commercial Spacing 1.5m This rail is a heavier edition of the normal domestic rail and is used in outside Queenslander style bridge rails. The balustrade is normally 42x35 and the rails fixed to the posts with a timber tenon called "good old fashioned fixings".
Images: Top right: Breadloaf bridge rail design Bottom left: Bottom bridge rail design Bottom Right: Ladies waist rail design.
Standard Metal Rail Spacing

Some of these handrail profiles are complex to manufacture and may only be available as part of a larger order. Please note that dimension changes cannot be made at all to many profiles. For those that can be altered changes require re-tooling which involves $500-$1000 of additional cost. Changes such as increasing the angle of the sloping top can cause the rail to be unstable due to differential moisture contents.

Please discuss with Outdoor Structures your specific handrail requirements prior to completing your project specifications.