668

THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE.
Book 1 1.
Treads. Risffrs.
inches. inches.
5 9
6 8.^
7 8
8
H
9 7
10
6^
11 6
12
H
13 5
14
4h
STAIRS.
2176. {>la!rs and tlieir handrails arc among the most iinpnrtant objects of tlie joiner's
skill. Tlie choice of situation, sufficiency of light, and easy ascent, are matters for the
exercise of the arcliiteci's best talent.
2177. There are some leading principles which are common to all staircases, of what-
soever materials they may be constructed. Thus it is a maxim that a broad step should
be of less height than one whicli is narrower
;
and the reason is sufficiently obvious, becausf
in striding, what a man loses in breadth he can more easily apply in raising himself by his
feet. Now, as in common priictice it is found that the convenient rise of a step I'J inches
in widtli is
5^
inches, it may be assumed as some guide for the regulation of other dimen-
sions. Thus 1 2 X
5j
=
66,
which would be a constant numerator for the proportion. Suppose,
for instance, a .step Id inches in breadth, then
7^
= 6? inches would be the height ; and this
agrees very nearly with the common practice. The breadth of steps in the eoinmonest stair-
case may be taken at 10 inches at a medium. In the best staircases tiie breadth of tlie step
should not be less than 12 inches, neither should it be more than 18 inches.
(See 2814.)
21 78. Having adjusted the proportions of the steps, the next consideration is to ascertain
the number of risers which will be necessary to pass from one floor to another. If the
height divided by the rise of each step should not give an exact number of risers, it is better
to add one rather than diminish the number.
2178a. An easy mode of proportioning steps and risers may be obtained by the annexed
method. Set down two sets of numbers, each in arithmetical progression
;
the first set
showing the width of the steps, ascending by inches, the other showing
the height of the riser, descending by halt-inclies.
It will readily be seen
that each of these steps and risers are such as may suitably pair together.
(Newland, Carpenter's and Joiner s Assistant, I860,
p. 197.) It is seldom,
liowever, that the proportion of the step and riser is exactly a matter of
choicethe space allotted to the stairs usually determines this proportion
;
but the above will be found a useful standard. In tirst-class buildings
the number of steps is considered in the plan, which it is the business
of the architect to arrange in accordance with the style of the edifice.
2179. The width of the better sorts of staircases should not be less than
4 feet, to allow of two persons freely passing each other
;
but the want of
space in town houses often obliges the architect to submit to less in what
is called the goitig of the stair.
2180. The parts of every step in a staircase are one parallel to the horizon, which is
called the /read of the 'tep, terminated on the edge by a moulded or rounded nosing, and
the other perpendicular to the horizon, which is called the riser of the step. Where great
traffic exists, the treads of stairs wear down at the nosing. This is often protected by a
brass edging, and by lining it with lead. Hawksley's patent /reads have come largely mto
use, not only at railway stations, but in warehouses and other buildings where there is
much traffic on the stairs and landings.
2180a. A ci.irious instance of economy of
material is given in
Jig.
781a., which shows the
mode of getting six steps out of round timber
.SO inches in diameter, being a saving of about
ten per cent, upon the attempt to cut up sijuare
timber. Such solid ste])s were housed into the
carriage; A showing the under side of it in re-
lation to the step B. In straight flights the
system of carrying solid newels from bottom to
top of the staircase is one which has since been
repeated successfully in iron construction. The
ingenuity of the mediaval joiner in this subject
is seen best treated in Viollet le Due's dic-
tionary. (See par. 2185.)
2181. Stairs have many varieties of struc-
ture, dependent on the character, situation,
and destination of the building. We shall now,
therefore, describe the method of carrying up
dog-kgged, bracket, and geometrical stairs.
2182. A DoG-LEGGED Staircase Is One whlch has no opening or well-hole, and in which
the rail and balusters of the progressive and returning flights fall in the same vertical
planes. The steps in it are fixed to strings, newel, and carriages, the ends of the steps of
the inferior kind terminating only upon the side of the string without any housing. Y and
Z in
Jig.
782, are the plan and elevation of a staircase of this kind; AB is the lower newel
whereof the part BC is turned. On the plan, a is the seat of this newel. DE and FG in
Y are the lower and upper string boards framed into newels, KL is a joist framed into the
trimmer I. 'I'lie lines on the plan represent the faces of the steps in the elevation without
Fig. 781a.