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This document provides the stair dimensions required by building code specifications and includes sketches, photographs, and examples of defects used in inspecting indoor or outdoor stairs, railings, landings, treads, and related conditions for safety and proper construction.

For a complete list of articles on stairs, railings, and ramps, their inspection, trip hazards, and good design, see STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS - INSPECTIONS, CODES. Also see Building Safety Hazards Guide. Here we include references to key documents on building codes and stair and railing safety.

© Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website.

Stairway, Railing, Landing Basic Dimensions & Rules

Step Riser Height Specifications & Common Stair Construction Mistakes

Closed stair treads using a solid riser are shown at the left of the sketch and Open stair treads are shown at the right sketch. "Open stair treads" means that no solid riser is installed between the stair treads. Stair tread nose projection and radius: stair treads should have a projecting nose that is rounded and projecting a maximum of 1.5 " over the tread below. The requirements for a projecting stair nose over the tread below may be amended for open riser stairs in some jurisdictions, but in no case should the front of a stair tread be more than 1.5" back from the inside edge of the tread below - see sketch annotations. [Click any of our images to see an enlarged, detailed version] Stair tread thickness: The minimum tread thickness for stair treads supported by risers is 1". Notice that the minimum stair tread thickness is increased to 1.5" when the stair tread is not supported by a solid riser. Sketch at left courtesy Carson Dunlop Associates Also see stair design details found in these individual articles and image files: Step riser dimensions Step tread dimensions Stair tread nose dimensions Codes for Stairs

Also see  Balusters & Railing Enclosures for full details of this topic. For more details about balusters (vertical spindles in railing construction) see details at Railings for a discussion of safety barriers along stairs, and Guards (railings on landings and open hallways, porches, screened porches, balconies that are more than 30" above floors or grade).

Questions & Answers regarding this article

Questions & answers about building stair codes, stair dimensions, clearances, and construction guidelines

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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS
  Attic stairs
  Balusters & Railing Enclosures
  BARK SIDE DOWN on DECKS, TRIM, STEPS
  Basement Stairs & Walkout Covers
  Books on Stair Construction
  Checklist for Stair Inspections
  Circular & Curved Stairs
  Codes for Stairs
  Deck & Porch Steps or Stairs
  Deck & Porch Railings
  Exterior stairs
  Fire Stopping for Stairways
  Guardrails on Balconies & Landings
  Lighting over Stairs
  Railings on Stairways
  Ramps, access
  Stair dimensions: width height &c
  Stairway headroom
  Stairway landings
  Step riser dimensions
  Step stringer defects
  Step tread dimensions
  Stair tread nose dimensions
  Winder stairs

• Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education including the ASHI-adopted Home Inspection Training Program (home study course), publications such as the Home Reference Book, report writing materials including the Horizon report writer, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
• "The Elimination of Unsafe Guardrails, a Progress Report," Elliott O. Stephenson, Building Standards, March-April 1993
• "Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
• Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2, available from the publisher, Lawyers ^ Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com and also from the InspectAPedia Bookstore (Amazon.com)
• The Stairway Manufacturers' Association, (877) 500-5759, provides a pictorial guide to the stair and railing portion of the International Residential Code. [copy on file as http://www.stairways.org/pdf/2006%20Stair%20IRC%20SCREEN.pdf ] -
• The following stair books and other books on stair history, design, and architecture can be purchased at our Amazon-Supported InspectAPedia Bookstore
• Falls and Related Injuries: Slips, Trips, Missteps, and Their Consequences, Lawyers & Judges Publishing, (June 2002), ISBN-10: 0913875430 ISBN-13: 978-0913875438
  "Falls in the home and public places are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the United States, but are overlooked in most literature. This book is unique in that it is entirely devoted to falls. Of use to primary care physicians, nurses, insurance adjusters, architects, writers of building codes, attorneys, or anyone who cares for the elderly, this book will tell you how, why, and when people will likely fall, what most likely will be injured, and how such injuries come about. "
• Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen, Jon R. Abele, Alvin S. Hyde, Cindy A. LaRue, Lawyers and Judges Publishing; 2 edition (April 2006), ISBN-10: 1933264012 ISBN-13: 978-1933264011
• Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
• The Staircase, Ann Rinaldi
  
• Common Sense Stairbuilding and Handrailing, Fred T. Hodgson
• The Art of Staircases, Pilar Chueca
• Building Stairs, by pros for pros, Andy Engel
• A Simplified Guide to Custom Stairbuilding, George R. Christina
• Basic Stairbuilding, Scott Schuttner
  
• The Staircase (two volumes), John Templar, Cambridge: the MIT Press, 1992
• The Staircase: History and Theories, John Templar, MIT Press 1995
• Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
• "The Dimensions of Stairs", J. M. Fitch et al., Scientific American, October 1974.
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