Manual of Purpose-Made Woodworking Joinery

Stair regulations guide 95

at right angles to the top- or bottom- step, from the

nosing’s edge to the opposite wall surface or balus-

trade.

Nosing

Figure 6.10: The nosing is the projecting front edge

of a tread (of whatever material) past the face of the

riser. In traditional joinery terms, when the tread is of

timber, the rule is that the projection should not be

more than the tread- board’s thickness.

Stair

A stair is a succession of steps and landings that

makes it possible to pass on foot to other levels.

Tapered tread

Figures 6.6 and 6.11: This is a step in which the nosing

is not parallel to the nosing of the step or landing

above it. Traditionally, these treads were referred

to as ‘winders’ or ‘winding steps’ until the Building

Regulations renamed them.

be established on certain stairs (see Figures 6.23(a)(b)
(c)) for the purpose of defining the extremities to which
the pitch line(s) will apply for checking the 2R+G rule.

Flight

The part of a stair or a ramp between landings, con-
structed with a continuous series of steps or a continu-
ous slope.

Going

Figure 6.7: The horizontal dimension from the nosing
edge of one tread to the nosing edge of the next con-
secutive tread above it, as illustrated.

Rise

Figure 6.7: The vertical dimension of one unit of the
total vertical division (total rise: TR) of a flight of
stairs, as illustrated.

Pitch

Figure 6.7: This refers to the degree of incline from the
horizontal to the inclined pitch angle of the stair.

Going of a landing

Figures 6.8 and 6.9: This is the horizontal dimen-
sion determining the width of a landing measured

Pitch line

Going

Rise

Pitch

Figure 6.7 The Going, Rise, Pitch and Pitch line.

Going of

landing

(b)

(c)

(a)

Figure 6.8

(a) (b) and (c)

are landings.

NLT stairway

Figure 6.9 The going of landings to be NLT (not less

than) the stairway width. Note that it is not clear in K1

whether this definition is from the face of a wall, or from

the face of the skirting board. Designers might be wise,

therefore, to assume the latter.

Nosing

Tread

Width of

tread

Figure 6.10 Nosings related to risers and treads.