STAIRS

Various parts of a stair

i) Step: It is a flat topped unit used for moving from one level to another.
ii) Tread: It is the upper horizontal portion of a step, on which the foot is placed while ascending
or descending.
iii) Rise: It is the vertical distance between the two successive tread faces, that is, it is the vertical
distance covered in a step.
iv) Flight: It is a series of steps without any platform or landing or break in their direction.
v) Landing: This is a platform provided between two flights of a stair. It may extend to full width
of staircase.
vi) Run: It is the total length of a stair in a horizontal plane. It includes the length of the landing
also.
Types of stairs
i) Straight stair
ii) Dog-legged stair
iii) Well or open-newel stair
iv) Turning stair
v) Geometrical stair
vi) Spiral stair

i) Straight stair: Long, straight stairs may be provided if the space available for staircase is
narrow.
ii) Dog-legged stair: It consists of two straight flights with 1800 turn between them. It is
commonly used in residential buildings.

iii) Well or open-newel stair: In this type of staircase, there is a gap of 0.15-1.0 m. between to
adjacent flights. Open-newel stairs are commonly used in schools and office buildings.

iv) Turning stair: Depending upon the availability of space, this type of stairs may turn in
various form like quarter-turn, bifurcated etc.
 Different types of turning stairs

v) Geometrical stair: This type of stair is similar to the open-newel stair except that the well
formed between the two adjacent flights is curved.
vi) Spiral stair: These stairs, also known as circular or helical stairs are commonly used as
emergency exits.

Plan Elevation

Geometric design of stairs

Plan a dog-legged stair for a building in which the vertical distance between the floor is 3.0 m.
The stair hall measures 2.7x5.2 m. Draw the typical plan and cross section of the stairs.

Ans. Width of the stair hall is 2.7 m.

So, width of a step = 2.7/2 = 1.35 m.

Floor to floor height = 3.0 m.

So, height of each flight = 3.0/2 = 1.5 m.

Let, rise of each step = 150 mm.

So, number of rises for each flight = 1.5x1000/ 150 = 10

So, number of treads required = (Rise-1) = (10-1) = 9

Let, tread of each step = 270 mm.

So, for 9 numbers of treads, horizontal run required = 9x270= 2.43 m.

So, width of each landing = ( Length of stair hall - Horizontal run)/2 = (5.2-2.43)/2= 1.385 m.
Plan of the Staircase

Elevation of Steps