Handrails

[Otto's Army]

When solving a handrail problem with an odd number of bolts, should the equal and opposite horizontal force be added to the top most bolt making the middle bolt a zero member or should the equal and opposite horizontal force be applied to the center bolt?

[Mike-SE]

This is a forum, not a wait for Mike or coach to answer the question. Jump in!!!

To determine the horizontal force ignoring the center bolt of a three bolt connection is correct. Using the distance between the outer most bolts will result in an over estimation of the tension but is close enough for ARE.