Stairs are one of the most significant structural elements when building a new home, apartment, or

any other structure with multiple floors. Stairs are typically built to allow people to move from one
floor to another. There are different types of stairs being adopted in the market.

The choice of stairs type is influenced by a number of factors, including functionality, purpose,
material availability and eventually, aesthetic requirements.

There is no specific number that states that only these many different types of stairs exist. Stairs
come in a variety of styles and can also be customised with various combinations.

As a result, the sky is the limit for your imagination. Every stair has its own set of benefits and
drawbacks in comparison to the others.

The one simple tip to choosing the appropriate stair for your next project is to consider if a
particular form of stair serves the aim of construction.

Types of Stairs
There are different types of stairs that can be built and are readily available in the market. However,
in this article, we will focus on the most basic and popular types of stairs that may be used and
adopted in almost any staircase design.

Straight Flight Stairs

Turning Stairs
Circular Stairs

Straight Flight Stairs

Straight flight stairs are those with all of the steps pointing in the same direction. Depending on the
height of the building or structure, it may have a single flight or two or more flights. A landing
separates each flight.

Also Read : Components of Stairs

Turning Stairs
Turning stairs are divided into five major categories:

Quarter-turn Stair
Half-turn Stair
Bifurcated Stair
Open Well Stair
Continuous Stair

Quarter-Turn Stair
Quarter-turn stairs are used when the flight direction is changed at right angles, either to the left or
right. Quarter space landings or winders are used during the turn.

Half-Turn Stair

These are stairs with successive flights that go in opposite directions. A variety of landings, such as
half-space landings, quarter-space landings, or winders alone, can be used to separate the flights.

Bifurcated Stair
The bottom flight of bifurcated stairs is divided into two narrower flights, one to the right and one to
the left, at the landing. It’s worth noting that the bottom flight is wider than the top.

In some situations, it may also have one common flight while descending up to landing and then
divide itself into two smaller flights for the rest of the descent.

Open Well Stair

A rectangular well hole or opening with a distinct corner at every change of direction is provided
when a space is available and it is intended to install a lift in the middle of the stairwell chamber.

This open well is surrounded by the several flights. Newels are placed at the top and bottom of each
flight of stairs, forming a noticeable feature that allows the stair to be named a newel stair.

The stairwell also has lighting options from the top. Stairs in public buildings are typically planned as
open wells.

Continuous Stair
The strings and handrails are continuous in continuous stairs, and curves are introduced between the
steps to eliminate sharp corners. This allows the winders introduced at the direction shift to be wider
and hence more convenient to operate than the newel stair winders.

These curved stairwells might be elliptical, circular, or any other shape.

Circular Stairs
Circular stairwells are made up of winder steps that are placed either around a central newel post or
as cantilevers from the supporting wall with a circular well hole in the center. A circular stair is
formed when all of these steps radiate from a central newel post.

Spiral staircases made of iron are fairly widespread and are mostly used for service .They are rarely
enclosed in a stairwell.

When designing a circular stair, the width of the tread along the walking line, which is 1′-9″ from the
stair’s outer circle, and the provision of an acceptable head must be taken into account.