Dear Nina,

when you say "Europe" or "European countries" - do you refer just to EU member states or European countries more widely? Even though certain regulations may differ significantly between different countries, there are quite likely also EU-wide regulations, especially when considering staircases which are imported into the EU common/single market from non-European countries.

Best,

Julius

Yes that is a good point... only as far as I have seen each country has its own building regulations.. I have not seen a wide-cover EU member states building standards document... I will look further into it though.

And to answer your question specifically, I would like to design the staircase for application in as many countries as possile really- this is why I say Europe... if there is some blanket documentation that I can find that applies to all EU memeber states then that is very helpful, because certaintly the idea to have to search through each seperate countires laws doesnt seem logical :)

Dear Dr.,Dear Nina,

Stair Building Guidelines

The UK Building Regulations on staircases are often the first source. Consult when building a new staircase because they are widely recognized throughout Europe as well as in many countries in Africa and the Middle East. When precise specifications are required, we collaborate with clients and building officials to create a stairway that is tailored to meet their needs.

Please refer to the links below; you can get the correct building codes for stairs for numerous nations.

• 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/

Hey Nina,

here you can find a comparison of some countries (pages 80-81), Book Building regulations in Europe Part II: A comparison of tech...

Good afternoon,

In response to your original question. Design of staircases tend to be regulated by local building regulations and standard that tend to vary from country to country in relation to the local circumstances, etc. Hence, an acceptable stair design in one country may not be acceptable in another. The other things you may want to consider that in some countries different building regulations may apply within different regions of the country. For example, in the UK you have three different regulations for (1) England and Wales, (2) Scotland, and (3) Norther Ireland. Equally, one would assume that the design of stairs would be governed by different regulations. For example in England the basic regulations for stair design is covered by the Approved Document K. However, the stair design is governed by the fire protection regulations within the Approved Documents B, and by the accessibility regulations within the Approved Documents M, whilst design loads for stairs and the balustrades are governed by various British Standards. Hence, things are not as straight forward as they may seem.

Otherwise, if you are interested in the generic building regulations it might be worthwhile looking into the International Building Code, the International Code Council, the International Existing Building Code and other.

With Best Wishes