logo
logo
Sign in

How To Space Staircase Balusters

avatar
Stair Warehouse
How To Space Staircase Balusters

If you’re installing stairs inside a building, one secret to passing a building inspection is properly spacing your balusters. So what are stair balusters? They’re spindles that make up the edge of a staircase, the balustrade that keeps people from falling through the railing. Spacing these balusters isn’t just critical for passing an inspection,it's also an important aspect in sustaining the safety of anybody who may make use of your stairs.

Understand your building codes:

Taking into account that your main objective is for your project to pass a building check, understand your building codes. These specifics differ from county to county, so study the details meticulously. Even if you have experience with building stairs, please take time to look at potential code updates. Almost universally, you will find that no more than four inches between each baluster to be acceptable. Building codes in certain areas may be more stringent and allow for no more that 3.5 inches between balusters. code This negligible detail could be the difference between passing a failing an inspection.

Measure the staircase:

Prior to you even starting out your baluster placements, be sure to cautiously assess the length of the staircase itself. Take your measurement starting from the post top of the stairs & continue all the way to the post at the base of the stairs. This distance is the length of your balustrade and therefore the space you’ll require to cover when positioning the balusters

Measure the blusters:

Now you can take into account the all-important balusters. Make use of your measuring tool to find the width of one single baluster.

Calculate how many baluster you require:

Next you can start to calculate just how man balusters you require.

Space the balusters out:’

The building code dictates the limits of how far apart best stair balusters can be on a staircase. But, even within the confines of that code, how far apart should you space the balusters for your specific set of stairs? You can answer that question by multiplying the total number of balusters that you just rounded to with the width of any one baluster. Take the number you get after that and then subtract it from the total staircase length that you found when you first began measuring. When you have the difference, divide it by the total number of balusters that you found in the previous section.

Asses the number & figure:

After your math is complete, your final number may not be convenient to work with in regards to basic measurements. If that is the case, and your space ends up being too small, don’t hesitate to take of a spindle from your overall amount while continuing to follow your building code.

As a side note, many people like to ask how to calculate the rise and run of your staircase. So, I always like to add this to any blog that has stair calculations
involved:

For a standard straight run of stairs in a residence, the maximum stair riser height is 7 3/4 inches, and the minimum tread depth is 10 inches. The risers is the vertical part of a step, and a tread is the horizontal part that you walk on. To calculate how many risers are needed, measure the floor-to-floor height in inches, then divide the height by 7 3/4. The result will likely be a fraction, so always round up. There are always one fewer treads than risers in a staircase. The overall horizontal distance of the stairs will be the number of treads added together.

Double-check your calculation by dividing the number of risers you determined were needed into the floor-to-floor height (in inches). The result will be 7 3/4 inches or less. If it is more than 7 3/4 inches, re-examine your work. If you have a midlanding, count that as one of the treads. According to the 2012 International Residential Code, variation in each of the riser heights is not to exceed 3/8 inch, but keep them as equal as possible when building them so people won't trip.

collect
0
avatar
Stair Warehouse
guide
Zupyak is the world’s largest content marketing community, with over 400 000 members and 3 million articles. Explore and get your content discovered.
Read more