STRAIGHT

FLIGHT
STAIRCASE
S
ANALYTICAL
REPORT

SHAURYA CHAUHAN
15000769
2B
BUILDING

BASICS OF A
STAIRCASE

TREAD, RISER, AND NOSING

There are two main components of a stair: treads and risers . A tread is the
horizontal surface
on which one walks. The riser is the vertical component that separates one tread
from
another. Generally, a stair has several treads and risers. For the sake of safety,
the dimensions of treads and risers must be uniform in a stair. Building codes
allow a small dimensional variation because perfect uniformity is unachievable.
In walking on a horizontal or an inclined surface, an average person can
comfortably
traverse a distance of 24 to 25 in. in one step. Therefore, a rule of thumb
generally used in
proportioning the treads and risers of a stair is
2(riser height) + tread width = 24 to 25 in.
Thus, if the risers in a stair are each 5 in. high, the tread width should lie between
14 and
15 in. The most commonly used dimensions for an interior public stair are 12- to
13-in.
treads and 6-in. risers. Outdoor stairs generally have a smaller riser and hence a
wider tread.
Building codes generally require a riser height between 4 in. and 7 in. and a
minimum tread
width of 11 in.
In most stairs, the tread is a simple flat surface, and the riser is a solid vertical
surface,
Figure 35.2 (a). Where space is limited, the effective tread width can be increased
somewhat
by inclining the risers, Figure 35.2 (b), or by projecting the front edge of the tread
beyond
the riser,Figure 35.2 (c). The front edge of a tread is referred to as the nosing .
When an inclined riser or a projected nosing is used, the code-required minimum
width
of a tread does not change. In other words, the width of a tread is considered the
horizontal
distance between the vertical planes of the foremost projections of adjacent
treads, as shown
in Figure 35.2 (b) and (c).
The nosing of a tread is subjected to the maximum abrasion. In public stairs with
heavy
traffic, the treads should consist of a strong, dense material such as granite,
highstrength concrete, or steel. Alternatively, a separate nosing (approximately
212 in. wide)
consisting of an abrasion-resistant and skid-resistant material is epoxied or
embedded
into the tread.
Stairs can also be constructed without risers, referred to asopen-riser stairs, Fig
ure 35.3 .
Because of safety concerns, open-riser stairs are subject to more stringent code
restrictions than stairs with solid risers. For example, open-riser stairs are
generally not

STAIR SHAPES
The most commonly used stair shape is a U-shaped stair (in plan). It consists of
two flights of stairs between floors with a midfloor landing (or simply amidlanding
orlanding ),. In addition to the U-shaped stair, some of the other
commonly used stair shapes are
Straight-run stair with one or two flights, Figure 35.5 : A straight-run
stair with more than two flights can be used, but this is uncommon.
L-shaped stair, Figure 35.6 (a): Where the space is limited, the landing of
an L-shaped stair can be used for steps, yielding trapezoidal (pie-shaped)
treads, referred to aswinders, Figure 35.6 (b). Stairs with winders are not
as safe as those with rectangular treads, and their use in an exit stair is
strictly controlled by building codes.
Circular stair: A circular stair may consist of all winders and can take
many shapes. A spiral stair is a special type of circular stair in which
the treads twist around a central column and are cantilevered from it,
Figure35.7. It is generally an open-riser stair. Again, building codes
have several restrictions on the use of a spiral stair. A helical stair is a
circular stair without a central supporting column

STEEL STAIRS
Stairs in public buildings are generally constructed of steel or concrete. Because
steel stairs
can be shop fabricated and brought to the site ready for installation, they are far
more commonly used than concrete stairs. Another reason for the lack of use of
concrete stairs is that
their formwork is complicated and expensive.
Prefabricated steel stairs are used in all types of public buildings, that is, steeland concrete-frame buildings and load-bearing masonry buildings. They are
particularly popular
for exit stairs.

STRINGERS
Stringers in a steel stair function as inclined beams, spanning from the floor to the
landing
and from the landing to the next floor. They generally consist of a structural-steel
channel or steel plate (136 in. or14 in. thick is typical). The depth of stringers is a
function of the
stringer span and the structural loads required by codes. The tread-riser units
span between
the stringers. Figures 35.16 and 35.17 show typical details of support connections
between
the stringers and the floor of the building.

LANDING FRAME
The landing of a steel stair is generally framed with structural steel members
as a unit,
called alanding frame . Typical details of connections between stringers and
landings are
shown in Figure 35.18 . The finish on the landing is generally the same as that
on the
treads. Thus, where site-cast concrete is used on treads, the landing is also
topped with
concrete.
The landing frame may be supported on a beam (specially introduced for the
purpose) between the upper and lower floors of the building, on (masonry or
concrete)
stair-enclosure walls, or on columns independent of the structural frame of the
building. In most buildings, however, the landing frame for a prefabricated
steel stair is
supported by suspending it from the upper-level floor beams with steel hanger
bars,
Figure 35.19 .
A major advantage of a suspended landing is that it allows adjustment of the
height of
the landing with a few turns of the nuts. Additionally, the entire stair can be
erected before
constructing the walls of the stair enclosure.

FREESTANDING
CANTILEVERED STAIRS
In the various stair types discussed so far, each flight is supported at the floor
and landing
levels. The use of steel and reinforced concrete, however, allows the stairs to be
constructed
without any supports at the landings (designed as cantilevers and supported
only at the
floors). Cantilevered stairs, also referred to as self-supporting stairs, can either
be U-shaped
or circular in plan.
A cantilevered, self-supporting, U-shaped reinforced stair is shown in Figure
35.20 (a).
Figure 35.20 (b) shows a cantilevered steel stair. In this stair, the stringers (of
structural-steel
channels) function as continuous spatially bent beams that are rigidly connected
to the
floor beams at both floors. Tread-riser units that span between stringer beams
are made of
structural-steel plate.
Self-supporting circular steel or concrete stairs can be constructed with or
without landings. Called helical (or helicoidal ) stairs, they are fairly common in
steel, concrete, and
wood. A helical stair is similar to a spiral stair but has no central column support.

CONCRETE
STAIRCASES
Although concrete
stairs can be precast and
prefabricated, their use is limited because they
are heavy, which increases the cost of transportation
and installation. Most concrete stairs
are site cast. As previously stated, the formwork for
concrete stairs is intricate, which
increases the cost and causes construction delays.
Their use is, therefore, infrequent, even in
buildings with a reinforced-concrete structural frame