Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Devonai on September 19, 2018, 08:18:15 PM
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The stairs to my back porch were rotted and falling apart. I figured I could replace them myself. So I bought steps and stringers from Lowe's and set to work. Unfortunately, the original stringers were custom, so I had to build braces to attach them to the support columns. I also ran into a measurement problem when I discovered that the entire back porch wasn't level (1" difference across 6'). But after three days, I got everything together. Next up is figuring out what to do about a railing.
Oh, and I'll never nail anything without pre-drilling holes again. So much easier.
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‘Custom’
Yeah, I see that a lot in my house.
My wooden door between my kitchen and garage is not a fire door and up to code. I measured it the other day- the opening is 35”, it’s also 79” in height. The opening also not square. I have to rip out the the jams and redo everything to replace the door with a code compliant fire rated door. :facepalm:
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your handiwork doesn't meet code.
Seriously.
From the current Connecticut Residential Code:
R311.7.5.1 Risers. The maximum riser height shall be
8-1/4 inches (209.5 mm). The riser shall be measured
vertically between leading edges of adjacent treads.
The greatest riser height within any flight of stairs shall
not exceed the smallest by more than 3/8 inch (9.5 mm).
Risers shall be vertical or sloped from the underside of
the nosing of the tread above at an angle not more than
30 degrees (0.51 rad) from the vertical. Open risers are
permitted provided that the opening between treads
does not permit the passage of a 4-inch-diameter (102
mm) sphere.
Exceptions:
1. The maximum riser height of existing or
replacement stairs serving existing unfinished
attics or existing unfinished basements being
converted to habitable space shall be 9 inches
(229 mm), measured as stated above.
2. The opening between adjacent treads is not
limited on stairs with a total rise of 30 inches
(762 mm) or less.
From the photo, I'm pretty certain the opening where the risers should go is larger than 4 inches.
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I believe you are referring to the absent kick plates? Those would be easy enough to install. Until you pointed it out, I thought it was just an aesthetic choice.
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Not decorative. Admittedly, I'm crippled up, but our open riser stairs tend to catch the back edges of my shoes. And in snow or ice, before they de-ice them, it's not hard to slip a toe end of the shoes in through the opening.
Old building, old resident, but I really have to watch that.
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Not decorative. Admittedly, I'm crippled up, but our open riser stairs tend to catch the back edges of my shoes. And in snow or ice, before they de-ice them, it's not hard to slip a toe end of the shoes in through the opening.
Old building, old resident, but I really have to watch that.
Which is why building codes now don't allow open risers (with a very few, limited exceptions).
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I watched an "Ask This Old House" on this subject just last night.
The 4" covers not only open stair risers but also spacing between balusters. It is considered the maximum opening in which a crawling infant can't get his head stuck in.
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Screws and construction adhesive are your friends with stairs. Nails work loose.
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I watched an "Ask This Old House" on this subject just last night.
The 4" covers not only open stair risers but also spacing between balusters. It is considered the maximum opening in which a crawling infant can't get his head stuck in.
Yep. Different code section, but the same 4-inch dimension limit. And, technically, the requirement is that a 4-inch sphere can't pass through, so the limit isn't actually four inches, it's some small increment less than 4 inches. My old boss used to carry a 4-inch diameter plywood disk with a 12-inh dowel screwed onto it for checking those things. If the disk would go through, the stair (or guardrail) failed.