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Stair Supplies

Stair Design

by Andrew Kozlov

Stair designs vary from ornate and sophisticated Victorian models, complete with balustrades and handcarved handrails to sleek modern spiral cases, which curl up and around the central newel post. You can design a staircase for a particular space in your house, or you can order prepackaged stair assemblies. However you design your staircase, it's critical to keep in mind the general style of your home when laying out the architectural diagrams.

For instance, it's smart to choose a wood to match the décor of the rest of your house--particularly your structural beams and floor. For instance, a pine staircase may look odd overhanging a finished oak floor. Conversely, a finely wrought, wooden curved staircase may look out of place in an otherwise modern and spare space.

Understanding Stair Design

You should also keep safety considerations in mind when designing your staircase. The "going"--the distance between the stair rises--shouldn't be more than a foot. The rises themselves shouldn't exceed more than 220 mm in height. Finally, the width of the treads should be a maximum of 36 inches, unless you want to put in a third set of strings to add the requisite support.

Since staircases are so sophisticated and mechanically intricate, you want to measure everything carefully, using advanced equipment. There are plenty of places to go wrong. For instance, if you're measuring the rise of a flight of stairs, make sure to do so from the base of where you want the stairs to be installed. After all, even plumb floors can vary in height on the order of a few millimeters.

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