A badly designed staircase presents real safety issues through the risk of injury and death from slips, trips and falls. So what makes a ‘safer’ stair design? The BWF Stair Scheme share five key principles…
The BWF Stair Scheme believes stair safety shouldn’t be a restricting factor on stair design creativity. In fact, the following five key principles can enhance the aesthetic appeal of any timber staircase.
1. Ensure there is a consistent rise
Stairs need to be as consistent as possible – if there are variations in the rise, this can lead to a person tripping or stumbling as they go. It’s important to allow only small variations in the rise – no more than plus or minus one percent is recommended throughout.
2. Keep the going consistent too
When a user places their foot on a step, the best support is provided when they can place most, if not all, of their foot on the tread. When the going falls below 250mm this is not always possible. It’s also important to keep the going consistent to prevent surprises for the user as they go up or down.
3. Handrails are a great safety net
Handrails can be an attractive feature to a staircase and they are an important extra safety support in the event of a person slipping. Having a handrail there to grab onto can prevent a person from losing their balance completely and having a serious fall. Stairs with a rise of over 600 mm should have a handrail and where the stair width exceeds 1000 mm a handrail should be fitted on both sides.
4. Keep your guarding up
Another key risk in going up and down stairs is to fall over the side. That is why some form of barrier or guarding to protect people from falling is required for any height over 600mm. This could be in the form of a screen or balustrade and it must be high enough to prevent people falling over it, and the materials used must be strong enough to withstand someone falling into it. With children’s safety always a key issue to bear in mind, any gaps in the guarding should be less than 100mm to help prevent them falling through or from becoming trapped.
5. Pay attention to the surface finish
Where the going of the stair is 300mm or more, users tend not to be affected too much by the slipperiness of the surface, but on stairs with treads of less than 300mm consideration should be given to a degree of slip resistance at the nosing. This is where first contact is made in descent and a slip resistant surface can help prevent a user falling.
Further stair design inspiration visit: stairs.bwf.org.uk