Wood Stair Design 1

[JStructsteel]

When designing and drafting a set of stairs, how intricate do you get with the details, or do you show intent, and default connections, and let the framer have some leeway in the field? I can see it becoming more a shop drawing than a construction drawing trying to piece everything together on a set of drawings.
Thanks

 

[skeletron]

Residential wood stairs? Usually listed as "Design by Others" or "Design by Arch" on my drawings. Show a bit of intent with connections if the situation calls for it. Our building code specifies width, tread height, tread depth, headroom, etc. and the architect (if there is one) usually handles most of the dimension-focused tasks. Contractors also *generally* know what to do or have a way to do it, and if it's spec'd in detail on a drawing that doesn't guarantee it'll be built that way in a residential setting.

Sometimes I do show the stringer connection at the header or slab because I've had some contractors go Tim the Toolman on it, using everything except hangers.

 

[JStructsteel]

Thanks, I guess I should have been a bit more elaborate, these are stairs up to a second floor entry on the back of a building. There will be a little deck too. Also, half way up, there is a landing.

The Architect is asking me for a price to design and drawings. I know I will have to detail out the landings, I just didnt know how intricate to get with the drawings for stairs.

 

[L_Bey]

Our typical process is to design the stringer as a beam, and note on the drawings what size LVL or dimension lumber it is to be cut from, and what the remaining depth required is once the treads have been cut out. We typically provide a hanger size for the top and bottom hanger, or a detail for the stringer supported on plates at the floor below. The contractor usually wants to use a different hanger size but at least we've provided enough information.

This is typically for larger multifamily buildings - we have occasionally noted the wood stairs "designed by others" but it's often problematic to get wood stair shop drawings since the framers aren't used to that process the way metal fabricators are. In the end for us it's easier to specify the stringer and landing framing on our construction drawings, and not have to worry about the framer building something that's not adequate for 100 psf egress loading, than it is to try to delegate the design. Single family homes leaving it to the architect or conventional construction methods tends to be OK.