Stair return barrier - building regs

Jun 16, 2011

How to finish the bottom of a winder flight of stairs
by: Gary

Hi,

The building inspector will indeed expect a barrier at the bottom of your staircase to stop someone plummeting over the edge if they (or you) fall down the stairs.

You are also supposed to have a continuous hand rail from the bottom of the staircase to the top - for support.

I've attached a picture of some oak stairs I fitted that has kite/winder shape treads like you've described. There is a half newel fitted to the wall with a handrail down to the post at the bottom. The handrail needs to be a minimum of 900mm above the pitch line, I'd go 920mm to allow for carpet. To find the pitch line put a straight piece of timber on top of the treads, so it touches the front of each nosing. The underside of that timber is the pitch line.

Spindles need to be no more than 100mm apart at the widest point so a small child can't poke their head through and then strangle themselves. Figure how to calculate the amount of spindles needed here.

That would satisfy the building regulations where I live in the UK, call your local building inspector to double check before you start the work.

Regards,

Gary

Stair return barrier - building regs

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Stair return barrier - building regs