uCAD

Stairs by floor height · 10 ft 9 in

Stairs for a 10 ft 9 in floor-to-floor height

10 ft 9 in (129″) from floor to floor takes 19 risers of 6 13/16″ and 18 treads 11 7/16″ deep: a pitch of 31°, and two risers and a going make 25″, an easy stride. A straight flight is 17′ 1 1/2″ long and needs an opening of 12′ 1 5/8″ in the floor above.

19risers
6 13/16″each riser
11 7/16″going (tread depth)
18treads (the last riser is up to the floor)
31°pitch
17′ 1 1/2″run of a straight flight
opening 12′ 1 5/8″ riser 6 13/16″ going 11 7/16″ 31° run 17′ 1 1/2″ 2 m clear over every nosing

How it’s worked out

The fewest risers that keep each at most 18 cm (7″) high, all the same: 10′ 9″ ÷ 19 = 6 13/16″. The going follows the stair builders’ rule that two risers and a going make a stride of about 63 cm (25″). There is one tread fewer than risers: the last riser goes up to the upper floor itself.

If 10 ft 9 in is your ceiling height, the stair is taller: add the floor above it, usually 10–14″ — see stairs for 11 ft 9 in.

More or fewer steps

Fewer risers make a shorter, steeper stair; more make a longer, easier one.

RisersEach riserGoingPitchRun of a straight flightHow it walks
177 9/16″9 13/16″38°13′ 1 1/2″treads under the IRC’s 10″
187 3/16″10 5/8″34°15′ 11/16″comfortable
196 13/16″11 7/16″31°17′ 1 1/2″comfortable (drawn here)
206 7/16″11 13/16″29°18′ 8 7/16″comfortable

The IRC (US homes) allows risers up to 7¾″ and asks for treads of at least 10″, 6′8″ of headroom and a width of 36″; states and towns amend it. Check the code that applies to yours.

This stair in each layout

Each drawn for 10 ft 9 in: the flights 36″ wide, the spiral 5 ft across, the square one in a 6 ft stairwell. The size is over the treads. Pick one for its plan, its sizes and its parts.

Change anything

A different width, a turn the other way, closed risers, a steel frame: open the stair in uCAD and set it in the panel, or tell the AI what the stair has to fit into.

Open it in uCADStair calculator

Other heights

Other heights: 10 ft 6 in · 11 ft · all heights

Measured between finished floors. A few centimetres change the riser, not the count, until a riser passes 18 cm.