STAIRS

Stairs consist of a succession of steps and landing that make it possible to pass on foot to
other levels. The complete system of treads, risers, strings, landings balustrades may be
referred to stair way or stair case. The space occupied by a stair case is termed as stairwell; lift
is the vertical distance between the floors served by the stair case
Any form of stairs is primarily a means of providing circulation and communication between
various levels within a building. Stairs may be classified as a means of escape in case of fire;
stairs that do not fill this means of escape function are called accommodation stairs
Concrete escape stairs are designed in a straight flight with not more than 16 risers per flight,
providing such flight are not constructed in line
A turn of at least 30˚ is required after any flight which has more than 36 risers , in special
circumstances such as low usage ( not more than 50 persons ) minimum overall diameter of
1500m and total rise not exceeding 3000m spiral stairs may be acceptable as a suitable
means of escape in case of fire

Parts of a stair

1. Inner string (closed).

7. Banister (or handrail).
2. Outer string (open).
8. Return nosing.
3. Tread.
9. Fascia.
4. Riser.
10. Landing.
5. Newel post.
11. Curtail.
6. Balusters.
Stairs specifications
i) Width.
Stairways shall not be less than 36 inches (914 mm) in clear width at all points above the
permitted handrail height and below the required headroom height.
ii) Handrails
Shall not project more than 4.5 inches (114 mm) on either side of the stairway and the
minimum clear width of the stairway at and below the handrail height, including treads and
landings, shall not be less than 31.5 inches (787 mm) where a handrail is installed on one side
and 27 inches (698 mm) where handrails are provided on both sides
iii) Headroom.
The minimum headroom in all parts of the stairway shall not be less than 6 feet, 8 inches
(2036 mm) measured vertically from the sloped plane adjoining the tread nosing or from the
floor surface of the landing or platform.
iv) Riser height.
The maximum riser height shall be 73⁄4 inches (196 mm). The riser shall be measured
vertically between leading edges of the adjacent treads The greatest riser height within any
flight of stairs shall not exceed the smallest by more than 3⁄8 inch (9.5 mm).
v) Tread depth.
The minimum tread depth shall be 10 inches (254 mm). The tread depth shall be measured
horizontally between the vertical planes of the foremost projection of adjacent treads and at a
right angle to the tread’s leading edge. The greatest tread depth within any flight of stairs shall
not exceed the smallest by more than 3⁄8 inch (9.5 mm).

Types of stairs
Inclined slab stairs with half space landing
These stairs have usual plan format for reinforced concrete stairs giving a more compact plan
layout and better circulation than the single straight flight stairs the half space of 180˚ turn
landing is usually introduced at the midpoint of the rise giving equal flight span thus reducing
the effective span and hence the bending moment
Inclined slab concrete stairs with half space landing

Straight flight stairs

This form of stairs although simple in design and construction is not popular because of the
plan space it occupies the stair behaves as a simple supported slab spanning from landing to
landing
Basic requirements
i) Concrete mix specified as 1:2:4 and 20mm aggregate
ii) Minimum cover of concrete over reinforcement 15mm or bar diameter whichever is
greater to give 1 hour fire resistance
iii) Waist thickness usually between 100mm and 250mm depending on stair type
iv) Continuous handrail of non-combustible material at a height of 900mm above the
pitch line if the stair width exceed1000mm

Open spiral concrete stairs - The plan shape is generally based on a circle although it is
possible to design them with an elliptical core .the spiral stairs can be formed around a central
large diameter circular column
Quarter turn –contain a flight with landing at right angle turn to the left or right the landing
is termed as quarter space landing
Dog leg or half or half turn stair – has one flight rising to an intermediate half space landing
with the second flight travelling in the opposite direction to the first flight
Open well or open newel – contains a central well with newell at each change of direction
and two or more flight of steps around the outside of the well
Geometrical stairs – takes the form of spiral with the face of steps radiating from the Centre
of a circle which forms the plan of an outer string and incorporates an open well
EXAMPLE
Design a simply supported dog-legged staircase for an office building, given the following
data. Use M20 concrete & Fe415 steel.
 height between floors = 3.20m
 rise = 160mm; tread = 270mm
 width of flight = width of landing = 1.25m
  Live load = 5kN/m2; Finish load = 0.60kN/m2

Solution