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Home Disasters Building a Home Design Dilemma

Out-Of-Code Stairs

Joseph Corlett, LLC

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

Much too steep; too much rise without enough run. Here's a proper stair for comparison:

To get enough run, the stairbuilder would have had to create a landing at the post and switched back into or near the rear room. Of course the opening to the rear room would have to have been enlarged. Obviously this would have eaten up a lot of living room real estate which is probably why it wasn't done.

The rise on each stair is 8 1/4" and shouldn't be more than 7 3/4". The distance from tread nosing to nosing is only 8 1/4" also. As the first picture indicates, they had more run available, which would have allowed for a lower rise, but for some reason didn't use it. It would not have interfered with the door swing.

The stairs aren't 36" wide either. Since the post is structural, that's a big problem. Maybe reframe the kitchen wall?

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Joseph Corlett, LLC
Original Author

2 years ago

thereson:

I took these pictures in a home a relative is renting. I posted it because we're always getting posters who want to relocate/alter stairs and that's nearly always not cost effective. This home wasn't remodeled that long ago; how this got past inspection I'll never know.

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Comments (9)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago
I think a lot depends on where the house is. This is quite typical in Europe where space is at a premium only in NA do we have all these rules about interior spaces, railings toilet space etc. Sometimes you just need to do what works in a space.
Therese N
2 years ago
Clarification? Is this a dilemma you are trying to solve? I’d want to examine the rest of the layout to see if the stairs can be relocated?
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The best way to find out is to go to your local building department and ask your inspector. S/he will make the final call in any event, but will also be the most knowledgable with respect to the local code requirements.
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ewininger90 The exception is for: Group U; Group R-3; and within dwelling units in Group R-2. It looks to me that a home fits within Group R-2. See pp, 3 and 4 here for definition of Occupancy Groups. If it were me, I'd get the absolute word in writing from your local municipality's building permit office. (You should be able to do that without giving out your address.) With that in hand, the contractor has no excuse should you need to go further. I don't know how effective the state consumer affairs office is. I can only speculate that they are more interested in outright fraud and non-performance rather than a Code violation. It would be instructive to see how the poster Caroline Hamilton, above, got satisfaction.
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ksc36
2 years ago
Is that the guys house who wanted to finish his attic? That guy keeps winning....

Exceptions. The following stairways are not required to comply with the requirements of this section:

1. Stairways leading to non-habitable attics or crawl spaces.

2. Non-required stairways connecting the basement directly to the exterior of the structure without communicating with any other part of the structure.
Therese N
2 years ago
Easiest solution would be to try getting a variance to build with current specs ex. for the higher rise, so you can stay within your footprint. Maybe compensate with handrails on both sides? IDK.
K B
2 years ago
I believe that the opening between the treads is also supposed to be less than a 4 inch diameter sphere. Looks like this fails on that and the railing spacing too.
chisue
2 years ago
I see the combination of high ceilings and a straight run of stairs with no landings as a prescription for disaster.

A relative tripped at the top of stairs similar to those in the OP's photo. She fell all the way down and opened her skull on the entry door. IDK how she managed to recover as well as she did from the damage to her brain. She had to learn to speak -- and think -- all over again
Joseph Corlett, LLC thanked chisue
Therese N
2 years ago
Inspections are dubious in the best cases 😏. I know our city uses every opportunity to get into houses to tag them for CO and updated smoke detectors. Noble causes, but anytime someone swings more than a hammer, they drop in. We managed to do all of our work (properly and by licensed tradesmen) without being scrutinized. I am diligent about doing things properly even without permits. It is a mystery this staircase wasn’t red tagged.
Joseph Corlett, LLC thanked Therese N
latifolia
2 years ago
Did it pass inspection? Are permits in that city on line? I'd look to see if they pulled a permit. Maybe they redid the stairs subsequent to inspection.

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