Monday Tech Talk – Compliant Stairs Requirements

This Monday Tech Talk is Compliant Stairs Requirements. When a project or building is in the design phase, it is important to consider the design of stairs. But also to comply with the current safety regulations. Addressing these aspects at the design phase could save cost and labour at a later stage, especially during the operational inspection of a building.

Like everything else, stairways must be designed to provide the strength, stability, serviceability and durability required for use. It is imperative that they are built so that any accidental overload won’t cause the stairway to collapse. It is also important to takes steps to ensure that people won’t fall.

This Monday Tech Talk showcases Compliant Stairs Requirements within South Africa, take a look at all the aspects to consider.

Requirements of this particular Standard that relate to dimensions specify that:

• There must be sufficient headroom above any stairway. At least 2,1 m measured vertically from the pitch line of the staircase.
• Treads of stairways that do not have solid risers must overlap the next tread by at least 25 mm.
• Landings serving two flights in a straight line need to be at least 900 mm long and at least as wide as the flight of stairs.
• there shouldn’t be a vertical rise that is greater than 3 m between landings.
• single step risers shouldn’t be more than 200 mm.
• doors cannot open onto stairways unless it’s onto a landing – and the landing then needs to be at least the width of the door (which must not obstruct people using the stairs).

Sometimes the dimensions of risers and going of treads vary in a flight of stairs. This variation should not be more than 6 mm. Dimensions of each individual step can be checked for safety by adding the dimension of the going to 2 x the height of the riser. This should be at least 570 mm and no more than 650 mm.

Tapered treads and winders are most common in spiral stairways. If they don’t form part of a spiral staircase, they must be designed to comply with the minimum tread and riser dimensions shown in the drawing above, and have a minimum going of 125 mm. The angle between successive risers (measured horizontally) must be constant.

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