Staircases - types, and design models

[mikesg]

Hi community,
I would like to enhance my knowledge in designing staircases of different types - there seem to be many forms of staircases we meet in projects, but I believe they all can be groupped in several types - like single/double flight, open well, helicoidal... The other grouping is whether they span transversely, longitudinally, free standing...

Can you please point me to references where I can see these groups, pointers how to choose a design model, typical details (especially for RC) and schemes of load distribution. I believe this is a very common issue, but I could not find a lot on the net - maybe I did not use correct keywords for search?

Many thanks.
Mike

 

[RARWOOD]

When I did a lot of work in the heath care area, I ended up designing a lot of stairs, and found that there was not a lot of information available.

The older CRSI manuals, before 1978, had some information on stair design with typicail detailing. However what I found was that in most cases a person had to develop the design themselves and then follow good detailing practices.

You also might contact some stair suppliers.

 

[mikesg]

Thanks for your reply. Not a very encouraging situation. It seems there is a book on that: "Staircases: Structural analysis and design" which I cannot obtain at the present time.
I hoped that there will be some articles in the ACI site or the structural engineering online magazines, but no lock so far.

Thanks again
Mike

 

[JedClampett]

The old Gaylord and Gaylord, "Structural Engineering Handbook", 1968 Edition, has some discussion on stair design in article 19-22. In article 11-29, there is an example of a reinforced concrete stair design that mostly discusses details.
The reference is so old that the stairs in the expamples don't meet current code regarding rise and run, but the principles still apply.

 

[JKW05]

The NAAMM metal stairs manual has info for metal stairs.
You can download it from:

http://www.naamm.org/amp/

 

[civilperson]

The art of engineering is to be creative using engineering principles. Examples of what has been done previously should help, but your stair design is unique to the specific location and framing. Looking for book help is fine but may not be the best approach. Try multiple designs and check costs between the different designs.

 

[Bagman2524]

The Stairway Manufacturer's Association has some good information for stairway design and construction. You should become familar with the requirements in the International Building Code (IBC).

 

[mikesg]

Thank you all for the ideas. JKW05, this manual seems to contain many details, looks like a good resource, thanks.

Civilperson, I agree on the creativity point. But having some guidelines and 'standard' solutions is not such a bad thing IMHO - one may turn out to be 'too creative' or miss an important detail. Of coure I agree that creativity should come to play in extending those solutions to provide an appropriate one for the specific structure.

Thanks again
Mike

 

[jheidt2543]

Check this out:

1 A1Books via AbeBooks
"Staircases: Structural Analysis and Design"
by Bangash, M.Y.H.
[United States] Hardcover, ISBN 9054106077
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group, 1999
May contain remainder marks. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: D20080104091714S9054106077. SKU: 9054106077-1-DBS $128.39

 

[271828]

All I'll add is that you should be careful if you design slender monumental stairs. I've been doing a TON of research on those lately and many are a serious vibration problem waiting to happen. If you can make sure the stair has a natural frequency over 9 Hz, that mades a WORLD of difference.