Stair Building Safety Formulas
In some of the old
building code books, they refer to a stair building safety formula that
provides users with a comfortable step.
The uniform building code a long time ago provided its users with two
stair building math formulas.
1. The riser height plus the tread width should not be less than 17 1/2
inches or more than 18 inches.
2. Twice the riser height plus the width of the tread shall not be less
than 24 inches or greater than 25 inches.
3. The maximum pitch angle for a set of stairs shouldn't be more than
37°.
Each one of these formulas works fine. I prefer number one over the
other three and provided you with a couple of examples that can help you
build a comfortable stairway.
Here's A Couple of Examples:
Stair tread width of 12 inches with risers between 5 1/4 inches and 5
3/4"
Stair tread width of 11 inches with risers between 6 1/4 inches and 6
3/4".
Stair tread width of 10 inches with risers between 7 1/4 inches and 7
3/4".
Stair tread width of 9 inches with risers between 7 3/4" and 8 inches.