Rooftop Railings and Stairs

A Brisbane commercial building manager engaged AGX Engineering to produce fabrication drawings for a permanent rooftop access solution for their HVAC maintenance team. The existing rooftop had ladder-only access, and the building manager required an upgraded permanent access solution documented for fabrication.

The documentation needed to cover a self-supporting stair and railing system that would integrate with a flat membrane roof, avoid penetrations, and fit within a constrained rooftop plant room layout. All steelwork was specified for a 25-year outdoor service life in a subtropical coastal environment.

AGX Engineering produced a 3D CAD layout incorporating a two-section dog-leg stair with an intermediate landing, designed to navigate around existing plant items within the constrained footprint. The stair and railing system was documented as a self-supporting steel module, with loads transferred to four base plates bearing on 25 mm thick HDPE load-distribution pads to protect the membrane.

The steelwork was specified in hot-dip galvanised Grade 350 steel. Handrail tube, mid-rail, and mesh infill panels were detailed to client-supplied dimensional requirements. A fabrication drawing package including weld symbol schedule, material specification, and a dimensional reference summary sheet was prepared and issued to the workshop.