Starting the Handrail and staircase design.
A look at some of the design aspects to be taken into account before drawing the staircase.
With these aspects decided upon by the property owner, end user or decision maker, the overall design for the staircase design can be achieved.
The design criteria is for looks only and not to be confused with the structural criteria that deals with rules and regulations for building the staircase.
The stairs can be very time consuming when getting the drawings out for production, deciding on certain aspects of the staircase design before starting to draw the stairs, can save hours in re-drawing them for a simple design change.
The staircase is best designed from the top down: As the handrail position dictates the stringer position.
I will work through the different design aspect in the order that I have found best and also the order in which the information is required for creating the drawings.
Each aspect has images attached, these are to give as broad a range of ideas as possible while being brief, many of these explanations may link to other pages with more in depth explanations of that particular subject or terminology.
n.b.
These examples are for getting the design concept, not all permutations will work together, your staircase professional will be able to guide you if there is a conflict in design criteria.
Stair design sheet.
In the trade: Printable PDF sheet to present to clients, let them fill this out and return to you, so you know their design thoughts.
Home owners: Fill out this form and send it to your Staircase professional.
Questionaire-rev-2.pdf (188 downloads)Staircase design options.
Client prefered options.
9. Specifier Q&A’s
A section for the specifier to complete ready for the drawing stage.
These are the basic design criteria required, there are several other factors that will be taken into consideration but these are at the drawing stage and the information for that will be determined by the contractor or draughtsman.
Staircase design options, overview.
A quick look at the options.
1. Handrail flow.
Although I have written the explanations below for staircase starting at ground floor or entrance level, when the staircase continues to lower levels or there is a break in the handrail run, each run of handrail may copy the next or be designed separately.
There will normally be a separation at the entrance level when a feature step has been included in the design.
1a. Continuous flowing.
A continuous flowing handrail will start at the begininning of the staircase and travel through all flights and landings without interruption.
The transitions in pitch and direction will be carved from solid blocks of timber.
When the handrail is so designed, the transition in change of pitch will be divorced from the transition in change of direction.
1b. Continuous mitred.
A continuous mitred handrail will start at the begininning of the staircase and travel through all flights and landings without interruption.
The transitions in pitch and direction will be mitred, allowance must be made so that the mitres do not intersect each other.
1c. Continuous over newel posts.
A continuous mitred handrail will start at the begininning of the staircase and travel through all flights and landings without interruption.
Changes in pitch may be either ramped or mitred.
Transitions in height will be goosenecked or vertical lifts normally with a horizontal exit at the top and pitched exit at the bottom.
Profiled newel caps will be used when running over the newel post.
The profile for the cap will be the same as for the handrail.
1d. Into newel post.
The handrail may run from newel post to newel post, the handrail may start with either a profiled opening cap or it will run into a newel block that would have either a profiled cap or ornamental cap.
When two handrails connect at different heights into the newel post, there may be an extended newel block or two separate blocks.
There is another option where the upper run of handrail starts with the profiled cap set over the post and the lower run of handrail connects into a newel block.
2. Handrail height over landings.
Although visually this will not make a great difference it is worth taking into consideration for a couple of reasons:
- Safety: If you have a large stairwell or atrium running around where there could be a long drop. People are getting taller and when the handrail is below waist height, the balustrade may feel or be unsafe in use.
- Historic buildings: many historic buildings have lower handrail, this may be the only time that a lower handrail would match in with existing balustrades.
There are three options here, I would recommend one of the last two, especially if you have children, are tall or have a long drop to the floor beneath.
2a. Same as flight.
The handrail on many older buildings is run at the same height across the landings as on the pitch.
In many domestic situations this will be the legal minimum height requirement.
This will have to be confirmed with local building regulations.
2b. Natural flow height ( same as pitch, plus half a rise.).
The natural height flow is the same as the height in the pitch, over the nosing, plus half a single rise between treads or the same height as the handrail in the middle of a tread.
This is also the height at which the handrail naturally comes to horizontal.
2c. Lifted.
Lifting the handrail on the landings may add additional safety measures to the landing area.
This will help when the landing handrail is more of an atrium around open design stairs with a long drop below.
To see more about the technical side of handrail heights and how they may be changed.
3. Handrail support.
3a. Timber spindles.
Timber spindles are a traditional choice for most domestic properties; their positioning at the edge of the flight will give the maximum use of stair width.
The spindles may be:
Straight in section with either square or chamfered edges,
Turned spindles with a multitude of different patterns.
The spindles can be either mounted onto the tread surface or mounted on the side of the staircase, cut through the end of the tread or return nosing.
3b. Metal balusters.
Suited to flights with some spare space, these balusters will either sit outside of the staircase and be fitted to the stringer faces or they will require fitting further into the tread area and the staircase made wider to accomodate the extra tread space needed.
3c. Paneled.
Panels may be used, the panels may be timber or metal, plain or elaborate.
The panels may sit on top of the stringers or run down past the stringer.
The panels when made of timber may have the spindle pattern reversed, so the bulk of the area is solid timber with a cutout mimicking a spindle or repeated pattern.
3d. Glass.
On straight flights, glass can sit in the same position and use the same space as per timber spindles.
On curved flights the handrail may have to be fitted outside of the tread area and be fitted back against the stringers, so space will be needed outside of the tread area.
Soft curved flights may be able to keep the handrail in the timber spindle position.
4. Cut or closed stringers.
Closed string flat with treads rebated in.
4a. Cut string.
A cut stringer follows the shape of the step,
Cut well string, the step will sit over the cut stringer with the front of the tread carrying on round the side or end of the tread untill it just lips over the stringer.
Cut wall strings will give the impression that the treads are projecting out of the wall.
4b. Closed stringer.
A closed stringer will encapsulate the ends of the treads and risers and may have a molding set on top of it for the spindles to be fixed into.
A closed wall string will look as though there is a skirting board along over the treads.
5. Stringer, wall string flow.
5a. Stringer curved at pitch change, flowing top.
The traditional way of finishing the stringers, staircases in most properties pre 21st cuntury would have been built this way, so if you are looking for a period staircase, this is probably the most suitable design.
A gentle sweeping curve between the pitches, the stringer molding would be formed to follow this curve.
5b. Stringer mitred at pitch change, straight top.
This stringer tops are cut straight between pitches, this gives a mitred look to them.
The stringer molding will be in straight lengths mitred at the changes in pitch.
6. Wall string termination.
6a. Stringer matching into skirting.
The stringer and skirting molding can be set that one flows into the other, this will need to be designed before the staircase is made.
On timber stairs this is made as part of the staircase, on stone stairs this is often created with fibrous plaster once the stairs have been installed.
6b. Stringer terminating at skirting.
The stringer will be cut over the landing, these normally have a simple molding over them, such as staff bead detail.
The stringer end and molding may be return mitred, to take the molding back to the wall and not leave any end grain visible.
The skirting will then but up against the return mitre.
6c. Stringer molding mitred over, skirting butting.
This style will normally have a simple molding such as staff bead detail running along the stringers.
The molding may be mitred over the end of the stringer, creating a border along the top of the string and round the end, the skirting being of a much thinner material will butt into the molding running down the end of the stringer.
6d. Stringer terminating into Plinth block.
On many grander staircases plinth blocks are used,
The plinth blocks will be used under the door architraves and at the end of the stringers, this creates blocks that the skirting runs between, allowing for changes in molding and height.
For more information on stringer to skirting transitions.
7. Feature or starting steps.
7a. The style of step at ground floor or entrance level.
The start of the staircase often has a feature tread, there are a number of different styles available dependant on the look you want and the handrail termination atthe start of the flight.
To find out more about the different styles of feature step.
8. Handrail terminations.
8a. Start of run, well string, especially over feature treads.
Newel post, Monkey’s tail or a range of different ways to start the stairs.
The stairs may start in different ways that embelish the the entrance and can make a major statement in the entrance hall or they can start in a very simple manner that just blends in with the rest of the staircase.
8b. Start and end of run, wall rail.
The wall rail can start either by returning into the wall or have a feature end such as a Ram’s horn.
Some wall rails may be fitted onto handrail brackets, these leave a gap between the handrail and the wall, others may be attached directly to the wall, some may be built as a recess into the wall, this is becoming trendy at present, with strip lihting being run inside the rebate.
wall rail.
9. Specifier Q&A’s
Additional questions that the specifier should where possible confirm; to give a full overview for the drawing office.
Steps.
Tread shape.
Traditional with nosing projection.
Vertical riser no nosing projection.
“Z” tread and riser.
Tread material.
Painted
Timber
Riser material.
Painted
Timber
Scotia.
Yes
No
Painted
Timber
Stringers.
Wall string material.
Painted
Timber
Well string material.
Painted
Timber
Sub structure.
Timber carraige.
Metal frame.
Concrete structure.
Additional design notes.
Any additional design notes may be added here, these could be things like:
Leather clad handrail.
Open risers.
Tread brackets for cut string stairs.
Related information.
Staircase drawing check list.
The information required along with the design intent to draw the stairs.