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Stairs by floor height · 9 ft 9 in

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

9 ft 9 in (117″) from floor to floor takes 17 risers of 6 7/8″ and 16 treads 11″ deep: a pitch of 32°, and two risers and a going make 24 13/16″, an easy stride. A straight flight is 14′ 8 3/8″ long and needs an opening of 11′ 6 3/4″ in the floor above.

17risers
6 7/8″each riser
11″going (tread depth)
16treads (the last riser is up to the floor)
32°pitch
14′ 8 3/8″run of a straight flight
opening 11′ 6 3/4″ riser 6 7/8″ going 11″ 32° run 14′ 8 3/8″ 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: 9′ 9″ ÷ 17 = 6 7/8″. 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 9 ft 9 in is your ceiling height, the stair is taller: add the floor above it, usually 10–14″ — see stairs for 10 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
157 13/16″9 13/16″38°11′ 5 13/16″over the IRC’s 7¾″ riser
167 5/16″10 1/4″36°12′ 9 9/16″steeper, fewer steps
176 7/8″11″32°14′ 8 3/8″comfortable (drawn here)
186 1/2″11 13/16″29°16′ 8 13/16″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 9 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: 9 ft 6 in · 10 ft · all heights

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