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This document provides building code specifications, sketches, photographs, and examples of defects used in inspecting the platforms or landings used with indoor or outdoor stairs..
A stair inspection checklist provided in this document outlines information to collect during a field investigation
of the condition of an interior or exterior stairway for safety defects. Having investigated cases of severe
injury related to falls and railing collapses we developed this field data collection checklist.
We also include references to key documents on building codes and stair and railing safety. Also see Deck & Porch Steps or Stairs for examples of tall, wobbly exterior stairs where a landing should have been installed.
International Building Code 2000 (BOCA, ICBO, SBCCI)
1003.3.3.4 Stairway landings.There shall be a floor or landing at the top and bottom of each stairway. The width of landings shall not be less than the width of stairways they serve. Every landing shall have a minimum dimension measured in the direction of travel equal to the width of the stairway. Such dimension need not exceed 48 inches (1219 mm) where the stairway has a straight run.
As you can see in our photo at left, a door is opening out over a stairwell and no landing is provided.
Because the ergonomics of a person placing their hand on a doorknob and opening the door tends to guide where they put their foot in stepping out and down, the absence of a landing here is a serious trip and fall hazard that is prohibited by building codes and by good construction practice.
As our friend is demonstrating at his home near Rabat, in Morocco, it can be very difficult to open a door that swings out over a step while you're standing on the step.
Like the example shown above, this is a trip hazard but in this case also it's also difficult to enter the building at all.
While standing on the step the person trying to open the door has to step backwards, down the steps, while opening this security door.
ALso the steps themselves are a bit slippery and have no railing installed.
Stairway Landing Requirements
The minimum recommended stair landing length is 36" (or a length and width sufficiently greater than the swing of the door if a wider door is present.
Notice that a stair top landing is not required if the door at the top of the stair opens away from the stairwell.
Because more people are injured by trips and falls than other hazards, experts have looked closely at the specifications for stairs, steps, and rails to reduce the falling hazards. This work has been translated into stair and railing specifications that are similar among codes and countries (but not identical). -- IBC, IRC, BOCA, Kingston NY Stair Code, & other sources. Sketch courtesy Carson Dunlop.
Stair and Railing Specification Topics for stair (U.S. and International Residential Codes) include the items listed below.
Following this list we provide sketches and photographs of stair, railing, landing, and construction details and hazards.
Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest corrections or additions to articles at this website, and if you wish, to receive online listing and credit as a contributor. Particular thanks are due to the many experts and also consumers who read and critique technical articles at InspectAPedia.com.
Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
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.
Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, 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 design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
"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.
The following stair books and other books on stair history, design, and architecture can be purchased at our Amazon-Supported InspectAPedia Bookstore
Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
The Staircase: History and Theories, John Templar, MIT Press 1995
The Staircase (two volumes), John Templar, Cambridge: the MIT Press, 1992.
"The Dimensions of Stairs", J. M. Fitch et al., Scientific American, October 1974.
More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs
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Environmental Inspection, Testing, & Diagnosis On-Site IAQ, Gas, Air Testing, Mold Investigation, Sick Building Diagnosis, Lab Services, & Remediation Plan Preparation - indoor air quality testing, problem source determination, supporting lab work, written remediation plan addressing removal of environmental and other hazards and prevention of their recurrence.
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