How can we improve staircases safety for children?
When planning and designing a brand new staircase the safety should be an essential factor to be taken into account, especially if you have children climbing the stairs every day. Here below are a number of guidelines you can follow to improve safety on your new or existing staircase.
Each country has its own safety and building regulations for staircases. We strongly recommend you to follow those rules. Moreover you can ask to your local Building Officer to inform you on updated current regulations of the region where your house is located. The officer may help you in finding the best way to make your staircase really safe. In this article we give you however some general information and suggestions you may want to take into account.
The staircase is a combination of different elements, each of them has to be properly designed and fitted to ensure the optimal use and the safety of the staircase itself. For a better understanding of the technical terms used to name all stairs components please make reference to the stair terminology given at the end of the article.
Steps
The going of each step should be not less than 220 mm. Small goings are very uncomfortable to walk even for children. All goings should be equal throughout the entire stairway. Depending on the material they are made of, the surface of treads can be slippery. A number of different options is available for all materials to make steps non-slippery.
-Wooden and steel steps. As a very reliable and long lasting solution on a new staircase, we recommend to have stainless steel strips recessed or glued on top of treads. On an existing staircase we suggest adhesive strips.
-Glass Treads. On a brand new staircase different types of acid-etched glass or anti-slip glass are possible. In order to have safety-walk slip resistant treads on an existing staircase adhesive strips are recommended once more here. The strips may have to be replaced after some time because they wear out.
-Stone Treads. New staircase: marble, granite and stone treads. Stone treads can be manufactured with one or two acid etched strips. We always give as option also the adhesive tape, as acid etched strips may be not easy to clean. Existing Staircase: adhesive strips are the only possible solution.
Steps Nosing
On domestic staircases Building Regs do not normally require to highlight the treads nosing. You can however decide to have the nosing colored in a different color than the treads. A stylish solution we can suggest is to insert stainless steel strips on the front of each tread nosing. This feature will add elegance to the staircase design and improve visibility of the area where you need to place your feet.
Risers
Following the general safety rules on staircases, risers do not have to allow a sphere of 100 mm to pass through. This is also known as “baby head rule” as it is especially relevant for children. It means that a child cannot get stuck with his or her head. The standard risers height varies from 160 mm to 220 mm, depending on the type of stairway and on its use, being this domestic or commercial.
A staircase with closed risers is the safest. Many architects, interior designers or homeowners however prefer open risers, as they give a sense of lightness and airy design to the whole staircase. In this case we suggest glass or Plexiglas risers, which can be easily screwed on back of treads. Other possible options are steel or stainless steel rods. A very elegant solution if you have wooden treads is to have wooden down-stands coming down the steps. This is only possible on brand new staircases.
Staircase Railing
The primary purpose of the railing on the staircase is of course to act as a barrier to avoid persons to fall. It is absolutely necessary and it can add beauty to your home or building as well. Railings help people to balance on steps and platforms. It may happen that you loose balance on the stairs and therefore you may cling to the railing.
Railings provide steadiness, which is especially important for young children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. If a person suffers from vertigo or has fear of heights, a railing can make him or her feel more comfortable. As a general rule a safe railing is manufactured with a handrail, where you put your hand for support, uprights and infill.
The uprights are especially important to give stability to the whole railing. The infill can be conceived with different layouts. If you have young children using the staircase we recommend an infill with vertical spindles, rather than horizontal rods. The “baby head rule” is here very important and the spindles have to be fitted close enough together to prevent a 100 mm sphere from passing through. This is valid also for horizontal rods railings.
The railing design with horizontal rods is very elegant and popular. Being the rods sloping, it is almost impossible to climb them. For those reasons many architects may prefer them to spindles, however not all building inspectors allow them.
The most popular railing design is nowadays the glass railing. It can be frameless – with glass fixed directly to treads or to stringers – or supported by uprights and handrail. Another very safe railing option is the one with wrought iron patterns. Forged scrolls or ribbons give an elegant timeless design to the staircase. Also in this case the wrought iron panels have to be manufactured with scrolls and ribbons to prevent a 100 mm sphere from passing through.
The latest trend in railing design is the model with completely closed steel or wooden panels which is the safest railing design ever.
Railing height code – Each region has again its own rules here, so better to ask to your building inspector to be sure of what you have to do to comply. As a general indication we recommend that the railing height from top of the handrail is between 900 mm and 1000 mm above the pitch line or floor. The handrail placed on top of the uprights is sometimes required to be continuous. It must run from the top riser to the bottom riser on the entire staircase. You should be able to grasp it and maintain the grasp without having to release your hand.
Landing balustrade
Same rules and models for Staircase Railings should be applied here. You need to pay yet much more attention here because the landing balustrades are normally fitted on a horizontal level. Being horizontal they are easily climbable and can be therefore more dangerous than staircase railings. Horizontal rods must be fitted together with Plexiglas or glass panels to make them impossible to climb.
Balustrade height code – Some codes expressly require the balustrade height from top of floor to top of handrail to be 1100 mm minimum. This is especially relevant on commercial and public places. As a general information for safety reason we can say that the balustrade height from top of floor to top of handrail must not be less than 1000 mm. Check with your Building Officer once more.
Railing and balustrade Fitting
Ideally, railings and balustrades should be installed by experienced professionals using the appropriate tools. If a balustrade or railing has been manufactured according to all safety rules in terms of spacing, stability and load requirements but it is not properly fitted, you will have safety issues for sure.
Baby gates
If you have toddlers or little babies in the house, baby gates for staircases are a must. You should consider to install one gate at the bottom and one at the top of the staircase. You can find many different cost-effective options and models available in DIY shops or on-line stores. They can be easily fitted and removed once you will not need them anymore. You can try to match them with staircase railing or use your creativity and have them completely different. If you are considering to buy a new staircase from us we can design and manufacture baby gates to be identical to the staircase railing and/or balustrade. In terms of design and manufacturing, baby gates should follow the same safety rules given for stairs railings. The “baby head rule” has to be followed here once more.
A proper installation is very important too. If you are installing the gate by yourself read the manufacturer’s directions carefully beforehand and follow the instructions to the letter. Take your time and check your progress as you go. After the gate has been installed, inspect its solidity and ensure that it is holding up strongly to the staircase uprights. Check also if it is easy to use and has a sturdy locking mechanism.
Staircase width
For a comfortable domestic staircase we suggest a minimum width of 900 mm. There can be however exceptional circumstances where a smaller width is needed (for example when the ceiling opening is small or when there are doors or windows that cannot be removed or on a secondary and utility staircase). When this happen we recommend a minimum width of 700 mm. Under this measure the staircase would be difficult to access. On commercial staircases instead the minimum recommended width is 1200 mm.
Staircase height
The height of the staircase is determined by the finished floor to floor height available in the building. Starting from the finished floor to floor height we determine how many steps we will have on the staircase. With this measure we can also check if we have the minimum safety headroom required. The minimum headroom required by many building regulations is 2000 mm. In term of safety this rule is important because it prevents the staircase user to bump his/her head against any overhead construction, ceiling or slab.
Staircase steepness (slope)
Local Building Regulations always give indication on ideal riser and going and on the maximum pitch of a staircase. There is a formula you can follow to check the steepness of your stairway and that is: 2Riser+Going = S, where S (Steepness) should be a value between 550 mm and 700 mm, this to have a comfortable stair with the best slope.
For example: riser 190 mm, going 260 mm. The staircase steepness is (190 * 2) + 260= 640 mm. As 640 mm is a value included in the range 550 – 700 mm, the steepness is optimal. On a domestic staircase we also suggest to have a maximum pitch angle of 42 degrees. This value is lower for commercial and public staircases (33 degrees maximum).
Safety on glass stairs parts
When we think to glass we normally associate this material to fragile elements. We also remind our mummy warning us and our little friends not to touch any glassware in the house as it can break into many shards and be dangerous. The glass as a building material has become instead an important element in modern architecture and interior design. It is not only used for windows and doors, but for structural walls and staircases too. The glass generally used in stairs manufacturing is known as laminated toughened glass, a type of glass much stronger and safer than ordinary glass.
Toughed glass sometimes also called tempered glass is a safety glass manufactured using thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength. The tempering is a thermal treatment that gives as final result a glass panel which is 6 times stronger than ordinary glass. The lamination process instead is a technique that alternates ordinary glass layers to PVB plastic layers (PVB Polyvinyl Butyral is a type of plastic). In the event that the glass brakes the PVB interlayer keeps the chunks attached to the internal plastic film and create a “spider web cracking pattern”. No dangerous shards and no risk of injures.
The glass used in treads manufacturing is normally with three layers of glass and two inter-layers of PVB, whereas glass panels for railing and balustrade have two layers of glass and one inter-layer of PVB.
Safety on stairs for people with reduced mobility
If a person with reduced mobility is living in the house all rules explained so far have to be applied to the staircase with the utmost scrupulosity, especially if there is no lift or elevator. If the staircase is in a public place as a hospital, school or another public building, special rules have to be applied. A comprehensive guide on how to build or improve staircases for people with reduced mobility is available as a pdf document here: https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200135/approved_documents/80/part_m_-_access_to_and_use_of_buildings
This document is specially meant for UK but it may be taken as a guide for any users. It give important information on staircases in the dwelling and also on communal and external stairs.
Staircases Building Codes
When designing a new staircase, we normally take as main reference the UK Building Regulations on staircases, as they are generally accepted in all European Countries, as well as in many African and Middle East States. When specific requirements are needed, we work with clients and building officers to custom design the stairway according their needs.
Here below you can find some links for relevant Staircases Building Codes in different countries.
UK and EU Staircases Building Codes
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200135/approved_documents/73/part_k_-_protection_from_falling_collision_and_impact
US Staircases Building Codes
American building codes may vary from State to State and even from County to County, so if you live in the USA you need to ask to your local building officer the specific rules you have to comply with.
However, we would like to give you here below some general information you may find useful. Those rules apply to private residences.
- Minimum tread going: 9 inches (229 mm) excluding the nosing
- Staircase steepness is 2R+G = 24.6 inches (625 mm). A value for the rise-to-going ratio of 17/29 ˜ 0.59 is considered optimal, this corresponds to a pitch angle of about 30°.
- Variance on riser height and tread depth between steps on the same flight should be very low.
- Maximum nosing 1.25 inches (32 mm)
- Height of the handrail. This is normally between 34 and 38 inches (864 and 965 mm), measured to the nose of the tread. The minimum height of the handrail for landing balustrades may differ and is typically 36 inches (914 mm).
- Maximum space between the balusters of the railing. This is typically 4 inches (102 mm).
- Headroom: At least 83 inches (211 cm), alterations may apply.
Here is the link where you can find more information on California Building Code and other American Building Codes too:
https://up.codes/codes/california
NCC Australia
http://www.abcb.gov.au/ncc-online/NCC/2016-A1?vol=a159de3f-a6a1-4781-ba7a-83cf53373ae6#a159de3f-a6a1-4781-ba7a-83cf53373ae6
NZBC New Zeland
http://www.building.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/building-code-compliance/d-access/d1-access-routes/asvm/d1-access-routes-amendment-5.pdf
SANS South Africa
https://sans10400.co.za/stairways/
Staircase Terminology
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- Staircase – a structure or framework made of steps, treads, risers, stringers and railings which function is to provide access to another floor of the house or a balcony or terrace area.
- Tread: The horizontal surface you walk on. Treads material can be timber, steel, glass, acrylic, carpet or tiling.
- Riser: The vertical component in between each tread. Risers material can be timber, steel, glass, acrylic, carpet or tiling.
- Step: The tread and riser combined.
- Going: The horizontal distance between each riser face. On a domestic staircase the individual going should be a of 220mm minimum.
- Nosing – the edge of the tread (usually rounded) projecting beyond the face of the riser.
- Bull nose Tread: A “D” shaped tread (wider tread with rounded ends) usually placed at the bottom of a staircase.
- Stringers: The main structural component that supports the treads and risers. There can be two strings running up each side of the stair or sometimes one central string as in steel stair construction. Strings can be either steel, timber or stainless steel.
- Winders: steps that are narrower on one side than the other. They are used to change the direction of the stairs and replace landings. To make a 90° turn you need two winders of 45° or 3 winders of 30°.
- Staircase Railing or Banister: structure fitted at the side of a staircase formed by uprights, handrail and infill*Handrail: A rail fixed on top of uprights to hold on to for support.
- Spindle: the vertical member, plain or decorative, that acts as the infill below the handrail and between uprights.
- Uprights: sometimes also called newel posts, the uprights are vertical posts that act as structural support for the railing
- Wall handrail: A rail fixed to the wall to hold on to for support.
- Balustrade: Parapet or guard-rail generally formed by uprights, handrail and infill fixed on a top floor, mezzanine, balcony, bridge or terrace.
- Width: measure between stringers or handrails.
Floor to floor height: measure from finished floor level at staircase entrance floor to finished floor level at staircase exit floor. This is a basic measure to design the whole staircase and its shape and direction. - Headroom: the clear vertical height measured from the nosing of a tread to any overhead construction, which is normally a ceiling or a slab, but it can also be a tread of an upper staircase.
- Pitch line: imaginary line connecting nosing of all steps.
Pitch angle: angle the pitch line makes with the horizontal floor level. - Staircase Entrance: bottom part of the staircase.
- Staircase Exit: top part of the staircase.
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We hope all above information will represent basic but important guidelines for you. Those principles will give you some further suggestions on how to design and build your brand new staircase or to improve safety on your existing one. As anticipated all countries and regions have their own rules in terms of stairs buildings and safety, ask your Local Building Officer for additional technical details and information on permissions you may need.
Our further suggestion is to contact Our Stairs Experts, they always be ready to guide you and give any supplementary detail you may need.
