Home
Staircase Terminology
Staircase Regulations
Rise and Going
Staircase Plans
Space Saver Staircases
Spiral Staircases
Staircase Ideas
Standard Staircases
Openplan Staircases
Bespoke Staircases
Winder Staircases
Fusion
Links
Axxys Stairparts

Ok so you need a new staircase but don't know where to start, the first area to focus on is the layout of the staircase
and the size the staircase will take up and the size of the stairwell required, the information below and the staircase
layout plans we have online will help you with this.

Once you know the type of staircase you need the next step is to decide on the style and materials you would like the
staircase making in, you will find ideas across the whole web site and an idea to costs in this section.

Staircase Layout

The first thing you need is the layout of the staircase, this is governed by your sizes and the rules set out in Building
Regulations document K.

Are you going to design the stair layout yourself ? Do you have drawings prepared by your Architect? Is the staircase
a Replacement Staircase?

Designing the Staircase Layout
The first thing to do when sorting out a new staircase is to measure the total rise, this is the measurement from finished
floor to finished floor level. ( Floor to Floor)

Once you have established the rise the next step is to establish the number of risers required for this particular staircase,
for a domestic staircase the individual step rise must be no more than 220mm to stay within building regulations
(Part K). The height of a riser on a standard staircase is 200mm so idealy you should be looking to get as close to this
as possible.(Eg :- 2600mm Total Rise (floor to floor) divided by 13 would equal 200mm, equaling 13Nº risers.)
Or just let Stairplan know the floor to floor measurement on your enquiry.

Now you have the number of risers required you now also know the number of treads required, you require 1Nº less
tread than the number of risers. (Eg :- 13Nº risers 12Nº treads.)(The top tread is only a nosing that attaches to the
Trimmer Joist at the top of the staircase.)

The next thing you have to do is work out the tread size required otherwise known as the going, the going is the
measurement from the face of one riser to the face of the next riser. The minimum going for a domestic staircase to
comply with building regulations is 220mm and the pitch of a domestic staircase must not exceed 42º. Use the chart
on the Rise and Go page to help you identify the correct Going size to suit your riser height.
(Eg:- for a riser height of 200mm a going of 223mm should be chosen.)

Width - there is no restriction with how narrow you can go with a staircase but the width of a standard flight of stairs is
860mm, For a main staircase I would suggest trying to maintain a width between 800mm and 900mm and I would not
recommend a width of less than 600mm for a loft conversion.

Will a Straight flight fit?
Well you have the going size of each tread now and the number of treads required so you will have a total going length
for the staircase, on top of this total going length you will need to add on the thickness of the top riser and the depth of
the Nosing used in the construction of the staircase.(Our standard nosing overlap size is 20mm, the standard riser
thickness is 9mm making the add on 29mm, we suggest you use 30mm). The room you need at the top and the bottom
need to be at least the width of the staircase, if you have a door opening in to the space at the bottom of the staircase
you need to be 400mm away from the door when it is open, at the top you don't want any doors opening into this space
at the top of the staircase, for more information on this look at the relevant pages in the Building Regulations.

A Straight Flight Wont Fit?
Corners - When it comes to corners you have a number of options the simplest option is a 90º quarter turn landing for
this you only need to allow the width of the staircase, the next option is a 3Nº tread kite winder for this you need to allow
approximately 900 x 900mm for a standard width staircase (860mm) in the corner, depending on your going and the
width of your staircase the size of a 3Nº tread winder changes, a good guide for the minimum size is 750 x 750mm for a
600mm wide staircase, the next option is a 4º tread winder for this you need to allow approximately 960 x 960mm on a
standard 860mm wide staircase, again depending on your going and the width of the staircase this size will change.
When you send in your enquiry on a winder staircase you can leave this technical detail down to us this is just a
guide for you to understand the space you need.

Headroom
You need a minimum of 2000mm of clear headroom above the pitch line on a domestic staircase to comply with
building regulations (there is a slight relaxation on this for loft conversions look at the appropriate page in the building
regulations).A typical size for your Stairwell is to have it the same size as the staircase layout, usually you wouldn't get
away with a staircase being more than half a tread under the stairwell on a typical standard rise height staircase.
Take care when your planning on where to put your staircase especially when your going into your loft and make sure
you stair well opening is big enough.
Don't always rely on your architects drawings sort your stairs out while it is still possible to alter your stairwell as it could
get expensive to alter it later.
If your staircase is going to go over your exiting set of stairs think about the headroom on the flight below also.
If you are trying to plan a staircase to go up into your loft a good place to start is in the loft this is because you are
usually limited to where you can exit the staircase in the loft space due to the head room in the loft space.

We have a number of staircase layout drawings online you may find it easier to find the closest one of these to what you
require, these drawings have detailed measurements as well as a 3d view to help you see what the staircase is going
to look like.

Does your staircase need to comply with regulations or not?
If you are replacing your existing staircase and the current one doesn't conform with current building regulations then
your new staircase can be as existing or better than the existing staircase.

Now you have got a rough idea of the layout design of your staircase.

Next Page Choosing a Style and costs.

Tip

Look at the staircase plans
first then use the tips on this
page to understand what
would need to change for
your staircase.