Engineered railing systems must be tested to meet IRC and IBC building codes.
The tests include:
Infill Load Test: The strength of the balusters are tested so that a 1 square foot area must resist 125 lbs of force.
Uniform Load Test: The top rail must be able to sustain 125 lbs of force applied horizontally or vertically.
Concentrated Load Test: The top rail must be capable of holding a point load of 200 lbs of force applied to the mid span, on the side of a post, and on top of a post.
A safety factor of 2.5 is usually added to the testing.
These tests are performed by an accredited third party testing agency.
