Staircase

Last updated on March 18th, 2019 at 11:04 am

Stairs not only serve as the medium to help you navigate to different floors of your house but also make a style statement by enhancing the aesthetic quotient of the home. You may go for curved, winding stairs or straight ones with angular construction. The focus should be on achieving optimum safety and utility.

While chalking out the plan for stair construction with your builder, you need to ensure that the tread and riser are sturdily constructed so that they don’t fall prey to fatigue induced wear and tear. The safety of your family members rests on the stability of stairs. Refrain from using slippery material for building the surface of the tread else there may be potential of someone toppling down the stairs in a hurry.

Ensure proper tread depth. The depth matters as too much height would exhaust you while going upstairs and may not be conducive to easy movement of people of advanced ages. Reduced riser height would also increase the prospects of tripping. The depth is to be measured from the external edge of the footstep to the riser that sits vertically between the steps. The tread protrusion should be less else one may stumble and fall when hastily climbing.

If stairs are to be kept open on one or either sides, you need to ensure that the stepping stone just after the floor should be broader compared to remaining steps and must be rounded. The balusters are arranged in semi-circular manner along the periphery of the rounded section. The balusters are supported from the top using a horizontal spiral known as volute. If you have planned to keep either sides of the staircase open, then go for double bullnose for more stability. For optimum support to treads and risers, go for 3 stringers. One each would lie on either side and the third would be positioned at centre for even spacing. You can add more stringers based on the width of the staircase. You can get winders added at all strategic locations to ensure that staircase changes its direction at convenient positions.

Gooseneck should be provided for when the sloped section of the handrail merges with higher portion. The banister material should be carefully chosen by taking into consideration long term traffic pattern to be experienced by the staircase. Your decision to construct the stair in a manner that has cosmetic appeal and unparalleled stability should be arrived at in consultation with the architect.