I've been making steps at either six or five and a half inch rise. Last place I did was only five and a half because of grandparents and children. The run was about three feet but I still installed a handrail for the owner's mother. My theory is to design for the weakest person on the property. So, the owners brother came by to talk shit about the "unneeded" hand rail while he's leaning on it. Handrail was placed opposite the house to direct people away from stucco wall. I used one inch black pipe bolted to the out side of the seven foot wide steps and cantilevered back over the steps seven inches to keep peoples feet away from the edge and out of the plants. I welded all the joints before grinding, buffing smooth, applying cold galvanize paint and finishing with metallic bronze color. It went nicely with the paving stones I filled into the steps.