Over here from Knots and out of my league on this one. How do you determine a comfortable rise to tread ratio ? Rise will have to be 5 1/2″ to get required rise with 4 steps as requested by wife. She has bad knees and hips and wants(needs)the shallow rise. I’am thinking about 10″.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
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Replies
Interior stairs? Exterior stairs?
Regardless, you'll likely run into code issues... The old standby of 7/11 stills holds in many locations for rise and run.
Start your design process by reviewing the document at this link:
http://www.stairways.org/pdf/2006%20Stair%20IRC%20SCREEN.pdf
Code gives minimums/maximums--maximum rise if I recall correctly is 7-3/4", so anything less. including his 4" plus should be fine. The code also gives the minimum run, which I've forgotten--something like 8-1/4", so anything more than that is fine. There were some shallow step down to a student lounge at a community college I went to that I liked because it was easy to take them two at a time if you wanted, but also you could go one at a time if that was easier due to any walking difficulties. They were on the order of 4" rise by 16" run, IIRC.
1 rise + 1 run = 16" to 17"
or
2 rise + 1 run = 23" to 24"
Learned these two formulas years ago, they work pretty well, as the rise decreases, the run should increase. I have been told that when the rise gets down to 5" that this formula will not work that well. For you it should be fine. Also, this calculation does not include any nosing, so a 5 1/2" rise has a 10 1/2" run, plus 1" nosing.
Thanks ALL, Guess I wasn't too far off after all.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
I have done a few at about five or five and a half rise. Seems to be better to use more like a 13-14" run with shorter rise like that.
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I agree Piffin. I was thinking 13 or 14" but it's been a long time since I've done stairs with 5" rises. I'm a stackem up and test it kinda guy.
blue"...
keep looking for customers who want to hire YOU.. all the rest are looking for commodities.. are you a commodity ?... if you get sucked into "free estimates" and "soliciting bids"... then you are a commodity... if your operation is set up to compete as a commodity, then have at it..... but be prepared to keep your margins low and your overhead high...."
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Thinking more since I wrote that - I believe the rise was about 4-3/4" and the run was 13" with an actual tread about 14-1/2"several of them around pools, in garages, and a couple of front entrance steps up to stoop. Most of them 3-4 risers each
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I always try to have rise + run = 18", hence 5 1/2" rise would give a 12 1/2" run."...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
Well, that formula would work with what I had done. I know it is comfortable and popular.
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If I had a 14 1/2" tread my wife would have to take 4 steps per tread. Code doesn't always work for everybody.
something I don't understand there.
I was not talking ccode to begin with. Othjers wereon the 14" tread size - if she has a 9" foot, shes only has a 1-1/4" stride to have to take fours steps per tread. That is not realistic. So I must be misunderstanding something. One of these I mentioned was for garage to kitchen for an old lady using a walker except for on stairs. I put a railing with them and she did fine.
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My wife had a stroke so she is really just dragging her right foot along.
Her left foot has to be up towards the back of the tread in order to drag her right foot over the nosing. Otherwise her right toes get hooked under the nosing.
Going down stairs she has to sit on them and butt down one step at a time.
Previous post not against you but against a wide tread for a walking disability.
I knew theere was some sort of disability but ...Anyways, I thought that a wider platform might fell safer. One of these I did for a restaurant had treads somewhere around 23" at their request because some patrons used walkers and that was needed to use the walker going up the step. As a consequence, they got a lot of compliments from other patrons who were elderly and less challenged but who liked the feel of the wide platform. It just felt like a safer place to be whether it was or not I don't know.
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***Anyways, I thought that a wider platform might fell safer. One of these I did for a restaurant had treads somewhere around 23" at their request because some patrons used walkers and that was needed to use the walker going up the step. **
Good to know. I plan to make the steps to my deck similar to accomodate my giant breed dog as he ages. Sometimes when their hips aren't so good anymore they need a little help & we'll both need to be on the same step. Hoping for something that looks good & works well both now & in the future. Bobbi
you're a field engineer too? ;-)
I don't know if I'm an engineer, but I do know what "feels" good. So, when confronted with low risers, I mock up a couple of steps and change the treads till I"m happy.
blue"...
keep looking for customers who want to hire YOU.. all the rest are looking for commodities.. are you a commodity ?... if you get sucked into "free estimates" and "soliciting bids"... then you are a commodity... if your operation is set up to compete as a commodity, then have at it..... but be prepared to keep your margins low and your overhead high...."
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When I think of the two extremes of stair rise/run, I think: old farmhouse versus courthouse.
An old farmhouse might have something like a 9/9 to even a 9.5/8.5, whereas walking up the stone steps of a 19th century courthouse, you would be doing between 5.7/12.3 and 6.1/11.9.
For new residential stairs today, I target 7.5/10, and don't like to rise more than 7.75.
Outside, whether coming up to decks, or doing stone steps in landscape, or front or rear steps to an entry landing or porch, I try to move toward the "courthouse" ratios.
I'd think 10.5" would be too small. I base my thoughts, not on tables and formulas, but by actually stacking some stairs and walking.
I'd think that 11, 12 or maybe more would "feel" better.
blue
"...
keep looking for customers who want to hire YOU.. all the rest are looking for commodities.. are you a commodity ?... if you get sucked into "free estimates" and "soliciting bids"... then you are a commodity... if your operation is set up to compete as a commodity, then have at it..... but be prepared to keep your margins low and your overhead high...."
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If she is taking short strides or doing the double step for each tread , like my wife does, I would do the 10" run with 11" tread
7 inches is gonna be it unless you are building a detached deck.
I went to a seminar from the stairway manufacturers association a couple of years back. They recommend 2 riser heights plus a tread to equal between 23-5/8" to 25-5/8".
The interesting part was they had several mock stairs with different rise/run configurations. The stairs I felt most comfortable on wound up falling within their guideline formula.
A common commercial stair measue is 6" rise and 12" tread.
With an 1¼" overhang on the nose of the tread, I would cut the stringers at 5½"X 10¾" or thereabouts.
A tread over 12" is slightly uncomfortable for the average person to rhythm.
In order for stairs to walk comfortably, the rise and run of each stair should be in a particular, approximate relationship to each other. The lower the rise, the wider the run (tread). The higher the rise, the narrower the tread which results in steeper stairs. Stairs that do not have this relationship properly accounted for can cause people to trip when ascending or descending. Here are some basic rules of thumb. Use one of them:
§ The rise times the run should equal approximately 75.
§ Rise plus run should be between 17" and 18".
§ Two times the rise, plus the run should equal 25.
Also, stairs have to be constructed in a uniform manner. This means that each riser should be the same as all the others - most codes have a tolerance of maybe 3/8". Same thing for the treads. Same depth, within a tolerance of maybe 3/8".
Risers higher than 8" cause the steps to feel rather steep. There are building codes governing the max riser height and the minimum tread depth.
This means that each riser should be the same as all the others - most codes have a tolerance of maybe 3/8". Same thing for the treads. Same depth, within a tolerance of maybe 3/8".
Just to add something - code here is the same except on comercial then the tolerance is 1/8".
Doug
That rule applies to a single flight, each rise and run must be no more than 3/8"'s differant than any other in the flight . Hit a landing and you can change rise/run.
Not often done, but legal .
Yes here commercial tolerances are tighter here too, and if I'm not mistaken 7:11 is a mandate.