Building Code Questions - Stairs & WC

19 years ago

Especially as more homes are being built with higher ceilings -- making longer stair runs a necessity -- I wonder if there is code to address how long an uninterrupted run is "safe" (without landings). I know there is code about tread depth and riser height, and that one can sustain an injury when there is only a single step. I've recently seen a couple homes with what appear to be lethal stairs -- a 9, 10, 12 foot straight run. This is also common in office buildings with "escape" stairs in a stairwell. Maybe it is officially "OK", but wouldn't families be safer realizing that "landings" are called that for a reason?

The WC topic came up on another thread. When a door opens IN to a small space like a toilet room or even a small bathroom, should a person fall within, it is impossible to get into the room beause the body blocks the doorway.

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Comments (8)

lorraineal
19 years ago
The Stairway ManufacturersÂ Association Visual Interpretation of IRC 2006 does not show any maximum run lengths for stairs.

Space, i.e. tight square footage, is what usually drives the size, placement and configuration of the stairs - and often many other decisions in home planning and building. Folks are always looking for ways to squeeze more house out of less space. Unfortunately, safety, flow and ease of use are often overlooked in the pursuit of less square footage.

Stairs, hallways, closets and bathrooms are easy targets - they are a often viewed as necessary evils that ÂeatÂ space rather than being embraced as features that can make a home function and live more efficiently and comfortably.
carterinms
19 years ago
There are codes (somewhere in the CFR's) for the number of treads on ship's stairs (inclined ladders, not to be confused with the other stairs post). It's been a few years since I had to deal with them, but I'm pretty sure that 12 was the maximum number of risers in a run. That's the rule that I used in designing the stairs for my house, and being 14' above ground with 10' ceilings, we have lots of stairs!
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buzzsaw
19 years ago
It is on page 8 of the linked doc above - 12 feet maximum vertical rise between floors or landings. Max run lengths can be interpretted from the codes for rise and run max/mins if that is what you want to know...
lorraineal
19 years ago
So it is :>

I stand corrected...
bus_driver
19 years ago
I do not have a copy of any building code, but do have some of the mechanical and electrical codes. I do recall that one code required a landing if the number of risers in any run of stairs was greater the the specified number- I think it was 12. A landing does not necessarily mean that the stairs turn, but a landing in a straight run does increase the length dramatically.
chisue
Original Author
19 years ago
And the answer is...a run can be 12 feet without a landing. (Long way to fall.) Wonder when that was last revisited? I'm not trying to create a nanny state, but aren't falls in the home one of the most common causes of injury?
oruboris
19 years ago
The stairs/landings issue was something that never occured to me during the planning phase, wish it had. Mine are only 9 feet, so not a *huge* safety issue.

I've always preferred the look of stairs that are not as straight, never realized they were safer as well...
hoosiergirl
19 years ago
I would have preferred a style other than a straight run, but a straight run is less expensive than other types (and we were on a tight budget). As our ceilings are 9' and we've had straight runs in all our other homes, my parent's homes and my grandparents' homes, all with no injuries, we kept the straight run. I think 9' is the most I'd go with it, though.