How to Design a Staircase Online
- 1). Go to blocklayer.com to access the online staircase calculator. The bottom of the screen shows a cross-section illustration of the staircase you are designing, as well as proposed measurements.
- 2). Measure the distance between the floors for the stairs you are designing. Enter this measurement under the "Total Rise" drop-down list.
- 3). Choose a preferred stair riser height, which should be about 7½ inches for residential staircases. Your range can be from 7 to 8½ inches. Choose the measurement in the "Ideal Rise" drop-down list.
- 4). Show more details in the cross-section drawing of your staircase design. Select "Show Nosing", "Show Stringer" as desired, and select "Restrict" to lock the design to the riser dimension you selected.
- 5). Determine the tread depth, or length. Enter this measurement in the "Ideal Run" drop-down list for the staircase. A standard residential tread depth is 10 to 11 inches, including the nosing. Enter the tread depth as the "Ideal Run" measurement from the drop-down list. Select "Use Ideal Run" to provide the overall length the staircase will require, based on the tread depth you selected.
- 6). Click the "Calculate" button to see a graphical design of your stairs.
- 7). Refine the design by selecting the "Stringer Width", "Stair Width", "Headroom" and "Floor Thickness" to incorporate these elements in the design results. For example, a typical stringer width is 11¼ inches, a standard stair width is 42 inches, and the headroom should be a minimum of 7 feet, 4 inches.
- 8). Press ¨Calculate,¨ again, to update the calculations and graphic. Scroll down the page to find the extrapolated measurements for the staircase you just designed.
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