Location, location, location

Deciding on the location of your stairs needs to occur early in thedesign phase.
Staircase location can vary depending on your requirements but most stairs are centrally located and handy to the main
entrance as well as the main living space. Note in the plan below, the orange coloured stairs are in a good central
location; i.e. close to the entry and living areas. This saves travel time around the home and offers privacy to other
spaces in the home. The brown coloured stairs are not in a good central location. They force people to go through the
dining area and also make users spend more time getting to other areas in the house.

PlanA:Goodandbadstairlocations(clicktoenlargeimage)

Space and design

Stairs can take up a considerable amount of space. You may need
to factor in circulation space around the stairs as well. You can
safely assume that a staircase will require a minimum width of
1.1m and a minimum height of 3.5m long. In a typical Australian
house is not uncommon for a staircase to be 1.4m wide x 5.9m
long.
Do not forget your stair dimensions will need to be mirrored onto
all floor plans.
Avoid designing stairs any narrower than 880mm wide when
finished (i.e. with plasterboard on walls). Australian standards for
stair construction will allow for narrower stairs but narrower stairs will be uncomfortable to use, especially if you install
a hand rail or have winders.

PlanB:Efficientuseofspace(clicktoenlargeimage)
If space and costs are an issue, keep your stairs simple and multifunctional. Plans A & B above show storage spaces
underneath the stairs. This is common with staircase design It is done to avoid wasted space and to hide stairs that
would otherwise interfere with head heights in other spaces.
If you have no choice but to include stairs in habitable areas (these are areas that require a ceiling height of 2.4m) there
are a few tips from the trades you should know.

StairsSectionPlan(clicktoenlargeimage)

Tips from the trades

1. Use the underside of your stair as a lighting bulkhead (See section above)
2. Only 2/3 of a habitable room needs to have a ceiling height of 2.4 the rest can be lower (please check with the
latest BCA requirements).
3. A bathroom is not considered a habitable space and can have ceilings as low as 2.1m high (please check with the
latest BCA requirements).

4. Ensure the finished underside of your stair in no less than 2m off finished floor level near doorways.

Concrete stairs

Stair types & dimensioning

There are three types of stairs traditional, contemporary and concrete. Variations on these are; conventional, spiral,
circular and open-riser.

Types of stairs
Straight flights
The simplest form of stairs is the straight flight. These are generally built with or without landings with a maximum of
18 treads in each run. Most straight flight stairs are built against a wall or between two walls. This reduces the amount
of space accommodating the stair. Mid-flight landing depths are traditionally the same width as the stair width. The
BCA will allow lengths of mid-flight landings to be as little as 750mm.
Straight Flightdimensions for stairs with nominally 250mm runs.
Floor to floor height Flight length Required rises Riser dimensions
2500

4150

16

156.3mm

2600

4400

16

162.5mm

2700

4400

17

158.8mm

2800

4650

17

164.7mm

No landing allowances are included in above table, if required just add a minimum of 800mm to your landing length.
Also remember flights must not have more than 18 rises in one flight, landings must be added between flights.
90 degree flights
The 90 degree flight is very space efficient for small two story dwellings or town houses. The 90 degree flight is usually
built against many walls meeting internal and external walls.
It is possible to change the direction of a wall and stair to follow a different angle like 30 degrees or 45 degrees.

Return flights
The return flight stair is the most common stair used in Australia for flats and houses and can include Half or Quarter

landings. See stair flight drawing below. Return flights may be built as free standing but are normally built against walls
(it depends on design requirements).

Circular and spiral flights

A traditional circular stair has treads that are cantilevered of a circular
surrounding wall, this type of stair is costly and is uncommon in residential

construction. Much more common is the circular stair that cantilevers its
treads off a central load bearing post typically made of steel or timber. This
type of stair requires little space and is self-supporting, but is trickier to
travers than a typical straight flight for example.
Ladder stairs
There is another stair option that can take up even less space than a spiral

stair, Ladder stairs. They are a cross-between a ladder and a stair and can be
bought premade and folded into an attic space or you can build one as a
permanent fixture, just like a stair. Ladder stairs need to be designed very well
to comply with BCA requirements.

Retractable folding ladder stairs

Materials
Before you choose what stair materials you will be using ensure that it is within
your budge and meets your usage requirements.
Here are a few ideas on stair materials:
Polished concrete & tiles are hard-wearing and very modern but can be
very noisy.
Timber is traditional but requires maintence and is noisy
Carpet = quiet, warm, safe and wears quickly
Glass = ultra expensive
Industrial grate

Tips

Circular steel stairs

Riser min. and max. dimensions = 115 to 190mm

Run min. and max dimensions = 240 to 355mm
Most comfortable stair rise and run is 160 x 260mm
Railings must not be less than 850mm height at the nose of the stair.
Open risers must not allow a sphere shaped object 125mm or larger to
pass through riser openings.
Quietest stair - reinforced concrete stair with carpet, cork, rubber or
similar.
The safest stair is a return fight with:
1. a handrail,
2. carpet,
3. risers 160mm rise x260mm run
4. full block hand railing/balustrade

Wooden stairs