Chapter 16 Stairs

I. Six Types of Stairs a. Straight Run Stairs i. Has no turns ii. Most used in home construction iii. Inexpensive iv. Requires a long, open space – may be difficult to accommodate in floor plan b. L Stairs i. Has one landing and turn at some point ii. Used when the space required for a straight run is not available c. Double-L Stairs i. Have two 90˚ turns and two landings along the flight, but not “U” shaped ii. Used when space for either straight or L stairs is not available iii. Expensive to build and not common in residential construction d. U Stairs i. Two flights of steps parallel to each other with a landing between 1. Narrow U Stairs a. Little or no space between the flights 2. Wide U Stairs a. Has a space between each flight – AKA well hole e. Winder Stairs i. Pie-shaped steps that are substituted for a landing ii. Used when space is not sufficient for the L, Double-L, or U Shape stairs iii. Not as safe as other types of stairs and should be avoided f. Spiral Stairs i. Steps rise in a circle about a center point ii. Gaining popularity and very decorative iii. Most commonly used with little space available iv. Typically constructed from welded steel II. Stair Terminology a. Baluster i. Vertical members that support the handrail on open stairs b. Enclosed Stairs i. Stairs that have a wall on both sides c. Landing i. The floor area at either end of the stairs and possibly at some point between

d. Newel i. Main posts of the handrail at the top, bottom, and points where direction change occurs e. Nosing i. Rounded projection of the tread that extends past the face of the riser f. Open Stairs i. Have no wall on one or both sides of stairs g. Rise i. Distance from the top surface of one tread to the next h. Riser i. Vertical face of step i. Run i. Distance from the face of one riser to the face of the next j. Total Rise i. Total floor-to-floor height of stairs k. Total Run i. Total horizontal length of the stairs l. Tread i. Horizontal member of each step on which the person steps on III. Treads and Risers a. Standard tread size i. 1 ¼” made of oak in 10 ½” and 11 ½” widths ii. 10 ½” tread width is most popular b. Ideal riser height i. 7” and/or 7 5/8” typically made of white pine IV. Code Requirements for Handrails and Guardrails a. Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA) i. Create the codes ii. Some examples include 1. Handrail Height: 30” – 38” above the tread nosing 2. Handrail Strength: able to resist a 200lb. concentrated load applied at any point 3. Guardrail Height: 36” minimum 4. Baluster Spacing: spaced so that 4” sphere cannot pass through b. Handrails help steady people as they climb the stairs i. Unless the stairs are very wide, one rail is sufficient c. Guardrails keep people from falling over the edge of balcony or off the side of staircase