STAIRS

• A stair is a flight of steps or series of flights for passing from one level to another

Or

• A series of steps that go from one level or floor to another

• There are a great deal of components and design parameters that go into the stair,
which are shown below

Functional requirements

a) Should be constructed of sound materials and good workmanship

b) Its ascent should be relatively easy. Public buildings should have a pitch of 38° and
private buildings should not exceed 42°.
c) The riser must be of the same height and the treads should be of uniform width if
accidents are to be avoided.
d) The staircase must be adequately lit.
e) The maximum number of steps in a flight is preferably twelve but should not be more
than fifteen
f) The stair should be wide enough, especially in public buildings. A satisfactory width
for an average house is 915mm.
g) Adequate headroom of at least 2m should be provided.

Constituent Parts

Riser – vertical infill between treads

Tread / going – horizontal narrow plain that spans between strings for users to step on

Handrail – horizontal or inclined member that spans newel parts for provision of adequate
support.
Balusters – forms infill between string and handrail

String capping – provides seating for balusters

String – inclined parts of a stair flight that house steps

Step – tread plus riser

Pitch line – line joining nosing

Nosing – protruding part of a tread

Soffit – inclined backing of a stair

Landing – platform between floors that adjoins stair flights either to allow change of direction
or slight rest.

Newel post – vertical corner post found either at the bottom end or top end of a flight
Some useful Stair Design Details

RISER (R) GOING (G) SLOPE

= 2R+G
Max Min Max Min Max Min
220 115 355 220 700 550

Materials common for stairs construction

Common materials include:

 timber,
 in-situ concrete,
 precast concrete and steel
Types of Stairs
Straight flight

Half-turn stair

Quarter-turn stair
Open newel stair Winding stair

Helical stair
Divaricated stairs

 This type normally preferred where one stairway is needed to serve two upper wings
of a building, so it is normally located in the atrium part of the building.

Bifurcated stairs
  This has two lower flights merging into one on the landing, then one flight from the
landing connecting with the upper floor as shown below.

[B] Concrete stair

i. In-situ Construction
 The most common type – concrete can easily be poured in formwork to form the
required steps right in the position where the stairway is required.
 Maintenance is mainly required on the balustrades if they are of materials like
steel or timber. In other words the concrete stairs are more durable as compared to
steel or timber.
Formwork for the flight shown above

ii. Precast concrete stairs

Advantages of precast stairs

 Precast concrete stairs are fast to erect, i.e. less construction time;
 Normally of better quality than insitu since the elements are made under controlled
conditions in the factory; and
 Need less skilled labour to erect on site.

Disadvantages
  They however need great accuracy so that the factory made elements can fit to
components cast insitu on site;
 High transport costs; and
 Need hoisting aid during erection on site.

[C] Steel Stairways

 Require very little time to assemble on site.

 If the risers are open, however, they make the stairway unfriendly to use with many
people.
Spiral Stairway

 Usually preferred in confined area

since they take very little space
 They are however generally steeper
than other forms
Reference List
The list below is based on available stock in the university library and the departmental
reading room.

 Barry, R. 1999, The Construction of Buildings Volume, 5 vols, Blackwell, Oxford.

 Chudley, R. Greeno, R. 2008, Building Construction Handbook 7th edition,
Butterworth-Heinemann.
 Ezeji S.C.O.A. 1984, Building Construction, Longman.
 Cannon K, Hartley F G, 1982, Building Construction Technology, McGraw-Hill.
 Seeley I H. 1995, Building Technology, 5th edition.
 Innocent C F. 2010, The Development of English Building Construction, Cambridge
University Press.