Building Stairs

Stair Building and Design With Stair Calculator


From Christine

"Hello Carl,

I've been reading your book, and learning lots! I was trying to find the average length/run of a stairway. I'm in the designing process, and I want to know how many horizontal feet to allow for the stairs in my plans.

Thank you for your help!"

Hi Christine,

Here’s a little in line calculator I found for you at EZ Stairs, Inc.

Click on the calculator picture to use.

Tip: Even professional designers can screw up a stair run. I have had a couple of home plans drawn where the stairs did not work out as drawn.

It created problems that were difficult to solve on the job. Had I not had very skilled carpenters who caught the problem early, the problems would have been even greater.

Stair design problems usually stem from a desire to save space and keep the size of the house from growing.

Although I am always preaching that size =cost, trying to squeeze stairs in where there is really not enough room is NOT the way to keep size down.

Keep that in mind.

I have seen finished houses where the stairs were too tight either at the top or bottom or at the “winder” (turn) if there was one, making it impossible to get some furniture up the stairs.

Watch head room and riser height carefully and consult with your building inspection department for stair codes. The building inspection department will turn down a stairway if it violates code requirements.

Carl