Railing made from PVC pipe

[britinusa]

Would some sch40 pvc pipe be strong enough to make a new hand rail for my steps?
The metal one has rusted through and I dont want to be buying new railings every 3 years.
I have the "Main Access" brand of step

 

[duraleigh]

Too vague. How big in diameter? What distance in between supports? Short answer is maybe but it is pretty "flexy" stuff

 

[Samantha Sabrina]

2" in short sections, (no more than 16"), between uprights might work pretty good, mostly depending on who would be using it, larger folks, or lots of children might not be a good idea.

If you do use PVC, make sure you paint it with a "Good" quality outdoor Latex paint, regular PVC does not take to UV rays very well, it will turn brittle and degrade over time and become weaker.

 

[woodyp]

You can always go to Schedule 80 and not worry about it.

 

[britinusa]

OK the railings are around 2.5" and each hand rail is about 4ft long bent over in an arc shape.
I was thinking of putting a smaller diameter pipe inside the vertical parts for added strength.