Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
ibewye

Are my stairs to steep?

ibewye
10 years ago

I have 9' ceilings between floors and currently the stairs climb up to a landing high enough to allow headroom for basement door then folds back with 3 steps to the 2nd floor.
As it stands we have an 8" riser (8-1/4" max in NYS) and 9" tread. I've gone around measuring stairs I use on a daily basis, the max height has been 7 1/2" and doesn't seem to steep. On paper another 1/2" doesn't seem like much but in the real world it can be huge.
Can anyone offer any insight on 8" riser height being too steep? I can still change now but if prefer not too.

FYI-kids will be using the steps as their bedrooms are on 2nd floor. They're still going 5&7 but younger relatives will be also using.

Comments (8)

  • virgilcarter
    10 years ago

    Yes, 8 inches is too steep for anyone, young or old. And a 9 inch tread is begging for someone to slip and fall on the way down.

    A maximum riser of 7.5 inches and a tread of a minimum of 10 inches is the least I would do for people of all ages and health conditions. If older people will be involved, I'd make the stairs more like 7.25 inch risers and 11" treads.

    Do yourself and your family a favor and change the stairs ASAP! Rework what's necessary.

    Good luck on your project.

  • bus_driver
    10 years ago

    Not so long ago, the building code for NC permitted risers up to 8 1/8". Certainly lower risers are more comfortable for most people. But trying to fit in stairs with lower risers can be a bit of challenge at times. It takes up more horizontal floor space because of the extra treads that it will require.
    Possibly yours met code at time of the installation. Changing them to lower risers would be your choice.

  • ibewye
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks both virgilcarter and jeff2013. I had a gut instinct that this was too steep, I think it came from the asterisk I saw that said NYS was one of the few states the allowed more than 7-3/4. Luckily I have both room and time to change.

  • ibewye
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Bus_driver, my stairs are part of a new home construction, the only reason the 8" is even legal is because New York is one of the few that allow such a tall monster (8-1/4"). I agree that its too steep and plan on having changed. Thanks again.

  • renovator8
    10 years ago

    You have created an unsolvable puzzle.

    You need to tell us the floor to floor dimension and any horizontal distance limitations as well as the height of the top of the basement door trim.

    An 8" riser would have a 9" tread (not counting nosing) and that is too short for adults. A 7 1/2" riser would have a 10" tread and that is ideal, in fact it is the minimum code requirement in most of the US.

  • ibewye
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Renovator 8-hopefully this helps. The fact that I live in the only state that still allows this height is exactly what raised a red flag. I see the architect was trying to get the height over the basement stairs which is what caused the steep incline and I'm thinking he just overlooked somehow as this was the first draft of finished set (oxymoron). I don't have more room to go forward but I have room to turn at bottom and poke into living room. Glad you noticed my post. I've learned to trust your opinion most of the time:)

  • renovator8
    10 years ago

    If you make the stair opening 24" larger you can use 15 treads @ 10" (before nosing added) and 16 risers @ 7 1/2".

    A 7 3/4" riser and 9 1/2" tread are possible but the ceiling height would have to change.

    The NY steep stair standards are the same in Massachusetts and many other states but there is no reason to consider them optimum design standards.

Sponsored
Van Metre Homes
Average rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars18 Reviews
Loudoun County's Leading Home Builder | 5x Best of Houzz