How To Measure For A Staircase

When having a new staircase fitted or fitting one yourself, it’s important you have a clear understanding of how they’re measured. 

Investing in a new staircase can be costly, but having the correct measurements means you’ll never have too much or too little material to create your new staircase. 

It also guarantees a uniform design and prevents the danger of ending up with a wonky set of stairs. 

In this guide we’ll go through each and every measurement you need to take when designing a new staircase. 

Rise 

The rise is the measurement from one floor level to the next in the space where your staircase will be installed. 

If you’re designing a straight staircase, this is a simple measurement to take. If your staircase is going to be slightly off level, make sure you measure the rise from the points where the staircase will sit. 

To determine how many treads you’ll need, divide the floor to floor distance (in inches) by seven inches. 

Then divide the height by the number of treads you require to produce the exact height of each tread. 

Something to remember: Two metres of headroom is required all the way up the stairs. Make sure the total floor space isn’t too much bigger than the opening length to cater for this.

The run refers to the length of the step that you would stand on. This should be between nine and ten inches, but it can be longer if need be. 

Width 

Like all measurements needed to create a staircase, the width is very important. 

If you’re measuring a staircase that will sit between walls, measure the distance and allow for clearance so each part can slide seamlessly into place. We advise you to add an additional 15mm to each side of your staircase if you’re installing posts add an extra 100mm.

This will account for the room needed for the plasterboard. 

The width of each stair should be 36 inches, but for a specific minimum width, contact your local council for the building code for staircases. 

Get your staircase parts from Wonkee Donkee today 

Are you planning on fitting a new staircase? Or do you need individual staircase parts for a simple refresh?

Wonkee Donkee creates and supplies top-quality staircase parts at competitive prices all over the UK. 

If you have any further questions about measuring for a staircase or want to find out more about what we have available, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. 

To chat with us directly, give us a call on 01938 557733. If you prefer you can send over your questions to info@wonkeedonkee.co.uk or fill out an online contact form and one of our experts will get back to you as soon as possible.