Stair Number

[Julian Gladyshev]

The Stair Calculator is an online tool for calculating various parameters involved in the construction of stairs. Refer to the figure adjacent to the calculator as a reference. A fraction to decimal conversion table for common fractions used in measurements is also provided at the bottom of the page.

Stairs come in many different forms, and while building a basic staircase may appear to be a simple task, there are actually a number of parameters, calculations, and building codes that must be considered. These range from the length, width, and height of specific parts of the stairs, to where doors are placed in relation to stairs; the arc of a door must be completely on the landing or floor and not be allowed to swing over steps. Below is a list of some of the most common terminology regarding stairs, as well as some commonly used building codes. Building codes or requirements can differ at a local level, and a person building a staircase should refer to the codes specific to their locations.

Run/Tread: The run or tread is the part of the stairway that a person steps on. Its length is measured from the outer edge of the step, which includes the nosing if it is present, to the vertical portion of the stair called the riser. Both nosing and riser are discussed below. When measuring the total run of a staircase, the length of the tread above the last riser is not included in the measurement. Also, when nosing is present, the total run is not simply the sum of tread length, since the overhang caused by the nosing must be subtracted from the total run.

Rise/Riser: The rise, or height of a step is measured from the top of one tread to the top of the next tread. It is not the physical height of the riser because this excludes the thickness of the tread. The number of risers, not the number of treads, is used to determine the number of steps that comprise a staircase.

Nosing: The nosing is the protrusion at the edge of a tread that hangs over the riser below. Not all steps have a nosing, but when present, the nosing is included in the length of the tread. The main purpose of nosing is to improve safety by providing extra space on which a person can place their feet.

Headroom: Headroom is the height measured from the top of a tread to the ceiling above it. While building codes for headroom are primarily intended to ensure enough room for people to comfortably use the stairs, the codes typically require far more room than the average height of a person to allow for moving larger objects such as furniture.

Stair Width: Stair width is measured from edge to edge of each side of the tread, perpendicular to tread length. While measurements of length are conventionally longer than those of width when considering rectangles, in the case of steps, the width is usually the longer side. Stair width does not include handrails.

Handrails & Guards/Guardrails: A handrail is a railing that runs up a stair incline for users to hold when ascending or descending a staircase. A guard is "a building component or a system of building components located near the open sides of elevated walking surfaces that minimizes the possibility of a fall from the walking surface to the lower level." Guards can include rails (guardrails), but can be any number of other constructions such as walls, half-walls, or even a bench.

Stringer: A stair stringer is a structural member that supports the treads and risers of a staircase. Typically, there are three in a staircase: one on each side, and one in the middle. Stringers are not always visible, but can be seen on stairs with open sides. The stringers can either be cut to the shape of each step, or in some cases, are uncut and conceal the edges of the treads.

Example: In a domestic situation where the stair starts on a winder - this is currently impossible to achieve as the winder requires (in vectorworks) to be preceded by at least three risers. I have tried to many times and never managed to get round this problem.

There are a number of basic flaws in the tool that have never been rectified - especially as all work on it stopped when the new stair tool that was meant to solve all problems (which it didn't) appeared.

I'm dizzy, @Anonymous. I see "A", "B" and "C" on both Stairs, with an arrow starting from the left "ABC" stair and pointing to the right "ABC" stair. This indicates to me that you want to make the right configuration like left configuation. The difference between the two is LANDING EXTENTS.

No, I removed one step from B and added to the A. The riser and length and total number are the same. The middle landing's level is changed (because of changing the outside's grading's level). see the screencast.

I have created a multi-storey staircase and now I want to tag the tread numbers. There are 72 steps. I am able to tag these steps correctly in section. They go from the ground floor at step 1, up to the 4th floor at step 72. However, when I go to my plan view, the tread numbers are 55-63 and 64-72 on every level (it's a dog leg staircase with 9 steps - landing - 9 steps). How do I get the tread numbers to read correctly on each level?

To get started, I modeled building a staircase while the children watched. I did this several times using different materials including felt shapes, snap cubes, and a counting frame made from wood blocks (styrofoam works too), a set of dowels, and pool noodles.

Once children had practice with the templates, it was time for them to create staircases with less support. I still provided them with a floor mat to create a physical boundary for their work. Carpet remnants, placemats and door mats all work well for this.

In addition to being great for teaching one more and one less, number staircases also provided great fine motor practice for my kiddos. Stringing activities, such as with pipe cleaners and pony beads, were arranged in a staircase formation. In some cases, I added tweezers to my counter collections for kids to use as they built their staircases.

Number staircases are now an ongoing invitation in my math center and take the form of math mats, storybook staircases, games, and the counting frame. Continued practice with this skill supports my kiddos as we move into our unit on addition and subtraction.

The stair calculator calculates stair rise and run, stair angle, stringer length, step height, tread depth, and the number of steps required for a given run of stairs. For convenience and flexibility, this stair stringer calculator comes in two forms: automatic and manual. Click on the [?] icons to determine the best calculator for your stairs.

Adding solid risers to your stairs will not change the results of the Stair Calculator, so long as you properly attach the risers before you add the treads, as shown in the Stairs with Solid Risers and 2x12 Treads diagram below.

Before cutting your stringers, double-check all of your measurements, and carefully plan how you will attach (or not attach) a solid riser at the upper connection point of your stringer. Depending on your design, you may need to adjust the depth of your stringer's top step.

For example, if you are not planning to add a riser to the last rise up to your deck or landing, you may need to subtract the thickness of one riser from the calculated Tread Depth [B] on the top step of the stringers. Using the diagram below, picture the top step without the last riser installed. Without the riser, the last tread would either have a gap on the back side or the nose of the tread would not have the same overhang as the other treads. Consider all of the possibilities before cutting your first stringer.

Stringer - The stringer is the structural part of a set of stairs. They are 2x12s (or larger) material - the uncut portion of the stringer should not be less than 5 inches (127 mm) (see diagrams below). In a set of stairs 36 inches wide, there are typically three stringers (one on each end and one in the middle). The Stringer Length is the tip-to-tip length of the cut stringer. The Stringer Length value is the minimum length of 2x12 material required to lay out the stair stringer.

Total Rise [A] - The Total Rise of a flight of stairs is the vertical rise between the bottom of the first step and the top of the finished landing. The Total Rise [A] should not exceed 151 inches (3835 mm) between landings or floor levels.

Height of First Step [E] - The actual finished height of the first step is the same as the Step Height [F], but when you cut the stair stringer, the First Step Height [E] is always the Step Height [F] minus the Tread Thickness [C].

Treads - The Tread Depth [B] should not be less than 10 inches (254 mm). In a given run of stairs, the Tread Depth [B] should not vary by more than 3/8 inch (9.5 mm). Typically, stair treads are either a single 2x12 or two 2x6s.

Number of Steps (Risers) - The number of risers is not necessarily the same as the Steps on Stringer [D]. If the Stinger Mount Type is Flush, then the number of risers is the same as the number of steps. If the Stringer Mount Type is Standard, the number of risers will be one more than the number of Steps on Stringer [D].

Stairs and Landings - Landings break up long runs of stairs (where the Total Rise [A] is more than 151 inches). The building code further states that the minimum width of a landing should not be less than the width of the flight of stairs served. **"Where the stairway has a straight run, the depth in the direction of travel shall be not less than 36 inches (914 mm)." For additional information, check out Stairs with Landings.

The old Mobile Stair Calculator is available now on mycarpentry.com but will be deprecated soon. I urge you to try the Stair Calculator on this webpage on your mobile or tablet device. You will find its responsive design works as well on mobile devices as on a desktop computer.

Use the Automatic Calculator if the only crucial factor in your stair design is the Total Rise [A]. Using a few (modifiable) default settings, the automatic calculator will compute all of the other factors, including the Total Run [G].

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