REQUIREMENTS OF GOOD STAIRS

A stair should be well planned so that an easy and quick communication between the various floors is achieved. So following are the requirements of a good stair:

1 1)      Location: 

        It should have easy access to all rooms and its location should be such that sufficient light and        ventilation is achieved.

2 2)      Materials: 

        The construction materials and workmanship should be sound and good.

3 3)      Width of Stair: 

         The width in a Residential building should not be less than 90 cm and in Public buildings, it should     be 150 cm.

4 4)      Length of Flight:

          The maximum no. of steps in the flight should not be more than 12 while the minimum being 3.

5 5)      Head Room: 

         Headroom is a clear distance between the tread and soffit of the flight immediately above it and             should not be less than 210 cm.

6 6)      Pitch of Stair: 

         The maximum slope in a stair should not be more than 40° and not less than 25°.

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7)      Landing: 

         The width of the landing should not be less than the width of the stair.

8 8)      Balustrade: 

         The open well type stair balustrade should be adopted as far as possible so that the danger of accidents is minimized.

9 9)     Winders: 

         These should be avoided because they are generally a source of danger to children and olds.

1 10)   Proportions of Step: 

          The rise and tread should be of uniform dimension throughout. The ratio of ‘Going’ to ‘rise’                should be as under :

(a)    Going in cm + (2 x Rise in cm) = 60 to 64.

(b)   (Going in cm) x (Rise in cm) = 400 to 410.

So, practically following going and rise is adopted:

(i)                  For Residential buildings: Going 25 cm and Rise 16 cm.

(ii)                For Public buildings: Going 25 to 27 cm and Rise 13 to 15 cm.

1 11)   The handrails should be so shaped and sized that it gives a firm grip to the hand.