Staircase Pitch

[RichA]

Is there an ideal staircase pitch?

I understand they should be 42 deg max but is 40 deg or 38 deg better?

This is for the main staircase in a domestic house, plan is for 2x quarter landings and a width of 880mm. The 42 deg would fit better, but I don't want a compromised hall/stairs if it can be avoided.

So options are say:
8-Q-1-Q-3 = 14 (x200mm) = 42.0 deg
8-Q-1-Q-4 = 15 (x187mm) = 40.3 deg
9-Q-1-Q-3 = 16 (x200mm) = 38.5 deg

Thanks.

 

[big-all]

shallower the angle the more headroom you loose
do you have a pinch point overhead and remember landings have to be at least a tread width deep

 

[RichA]

No real pinch points from headroom / landings perspective, the motivation for a steeper (42 deg) pitch is so that it takes up less space on the ground floor.

But want to check that, say, 38 or 40 deg wasn't recommended for main stairs (i.e. if 42deg is a compromise to the stairs, or normal).

 

[big-all]

42 degrees is steep its the maximum as your not far off one foot forward is one foot up
iff you have big feet like me [size 13] at 42 degree i feel happier with hands on wall to balance on the way down as 5" off my foot overhang the tread front doesnt feel good

 

[RichA]

42 degrees is steep its the maximum as your not far off one foot forward is one foot up
iff you have big feet like me [size 13] at 42 degree i feel happier with hands on wall to balance on the way down as 5" off my foot overhang the tread front doesnt feel good

Thanks, in that case I might try to go with the 40.3 deg option.

 

[vinn]

OP,
You will lose approx 225mm in the total going if you use 40* instead of 38* but the steeper pitch will be very obvious to anyone climbing the stairs esp. older people.
I was taught to build a flight to 35* if at all possible.
Landings mentioned above, if cleverly used, can, surprisingly, save quite a bit of space.

 

[cjard]

My main staircase is 28 degrees, and it gets a lot of appreciative comments about how nice it is to climb. The one that goes to the attic is 38 degrees and by heck do my knees notice the transition. Like big all I'm no fan of a short going, as my size 14s hang off most (I.e. Slammed in to max permissible pitch to save as much space as poss) stairs considerably, and I find myself going down many staircases at a sideways angle.. make it as shallow as you can, as nothing screams "this house is a postage-stamp-sized engineered-for-profit effort" more than a sheer staircase, in my opinion. If you need to turn corners, use winders as the extra steps permit you a lower rise on the other steps/shallower pitch ergo an easier climb.

 

[RichA]

28deg. Wow. Puts my 40deg into perspective.

I am trying to lose the bottom 2 steps projecting into the hall, but am constrained by a WC under the stairs.

Drawn as 16 steps, hoping to get 14/15 to work. But will be steeper.

(I can't push stairs back due to 1st floor layout).

 

[cjard]

Can you show a plan of the floor above?

 

[RichA]

Can you show a plan of the floor above?

Sorry for the delay,have been away. Here is the First Floor.

 

[cjard]

How do you feel about winder staircases (where you have 3 steps to get round 90 degrees rather than a landing)?

Your two landings would easily absorb the two steps sticking out in the hall and give another two steps if they were both winders which could be used to make the staircase shallower.
If you want to keep the landings, put the two steps you need on the top flight instead. This eats into the head height of your WC, but there is space to move the WC into the hall a bit more (it only needs to move two goings worth to get back to the current situation) and you can always create a storage cupboard (from the extra space moving the WC gives) in the adjacent room behind the sofa, or if it's a main lounge, a cupboard for av equipment perhaps..

 

[RichA]

My concern with a winder from the GF hall is that it will make the stairs feel less 'grand'.

I want to avoid stairs projecting past the wall into the GF hall; I think this is best achieved by:
1. 15 risers at 187 @40deg (instead of 16 at 175 @42deg).
2. Lose 2 projecting steps at bottom, add 1 at top
3. Floor-ceiling height in WC (i.e. under 2nd Qtr landing) reduced from 2275 (13 @ 175) to 2055 (11 @ 187). **
4. Pull WC forward 1 step.

** This is still >door height and will affect about half the WC.

 

[cjard]

I understand the winder concern, as I had the same worry. Consider though:

* "Steeper feels cheaper" -> thank years of barratts slamming everything in to the absolute limit permitted by law for that one. Steeper cases use fewer materials and allow greater use of miniscule floor areas
* There's a lot more engineering in a winder and consequently staircases that employ them are more expensive, as well as less common
* If you can make your stairs a departure from "carpet covered MDF" then the winder is less of an obvious feature in the grand scheme of things

If you're desperate to keep the landings, do consider moving the WC out of the way a bit to make room for a shallower staircase; you're going to use the staircase a lot more often than the WC and no-one expects a WC to be palatial anyway. I've got used to mine now but at 1.7x1.7m at first it felt enormous, especially as the toilet is corner mounted and tucked away. It's got future potential to add a shower if building the place physically ruins me to the point where i can't climb those stairs in my old age

If you have any friends with new builds, go ask f you can climb their stairs 10 times, then climb a commercial/public building 10 times. This may whet your appetite for a shallower pitch

As a side thought; your hall is actually really quite large and most of the time it's dead space or storage for all the child crap we accumulate. What scope have you for moving the study wall into the hall over by a couple of feet? It removes the stair projection, gives you more study/bed2 space and shouldn't impact on the grandness of the entrance overly much, esp if it's kept clear, painted in a light colour and your front door employs side/top lights for lots of natural light

 

[RichA]

Here are the stairs configured as:
i. 16-step Winder with a 37deg pitch
ii. 15-step Quarter with a 40deg pitch
Both seem to do the job, so it comes down to pitch v type (Quarters over Winder).



Need to try some 'steep' stairs to see what they feel like. As well as measure the pitch on my current stairs.