"Tom Watson" wrote

I have been building stairs, off and on, for forty years.

There are certain primes that must not be violated.

The total rise is the distance from the finished floor below to the
finished floor above.

The total run is the distance from the first riser to the flat of the
landing.

The unit rise is the division of the total rise by the highest number
that fits to the code.

The unit run is the division of the total run by the number of treads,
making sure that it is code compliant.

There are codes that get involved with this.

Unfortunately, there are too many.

I work to the current UBC and, if I have to go to court, that is my
defense.

The old rule was 7/11. The new rule varies with the jurisdiction.

Why?


There are separate rules for spiral stairs.

Why?


I can run a spiral stair in my jurisdiction that demands a 4" ball
minimum on the rail but that will allow a 6" space on an open riser.

Why?

Wish I could tell you. But I know well the feeling prior to a "building
final", that no matter how diligent/careful you've been, some arcane
interpretation of an esoteric bit of code regarding stairs could cost you a
bundle to correct, for there are few things that can be harder, or more
expensive to fix, than a set of failed stairs in a "finished" house.

On building finals I routinely make it a point to wait for the inspector,
all day if that's what it takes, so I can be present and walk along side
with *my* tape measure, and ready answers to any questions. If necessary,
I'd rather try to prevail before it makes it "on record", which causes even
the most amenable of inspectors to vigorously justify himself at appeal.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)