MEASURING FOR A STAIRCASE

Upper floor opening length - min.

Upper floor opening width - min.

Height floor-to-floor

Total going length

Total going width

New staircase - whats best for you?

DOLLE staircases are available in 3 different configurations. You can choose from straight flight, quarter turn or a U turn format. This gives you a choice on how you can best use the space you have available. A few things to consider include the tread spacing and tread width. The wider the tread and narrower the gap between the tread the more comfortable the staircase. When space is at a premium then look at which configuration fits best. You will be surprised at what can be achieved with the most effect format of staircase.

Stair format

Straight flight stairs are popular when you have a width restriction, but the length of the staircase is less of an issue. The width of the staircase is between 67 cm to 90 cm depending on the model, it’s common for straight flight staircases to be installed against an internal. All our staircases are supplied with a banister for one side, but you do have the options of purchasing a second banister if you are mounting centrally with one side exposed. You can also consider our quarter or half turn formats. Quarter turn staircases allow for a turn of up to 90 degrees at the top, bottom or gradual down the staircase. They have a narrower length footprint in the room but do take up a wider width measurement as you need to allow for the staircase to turn. Remember, you do not need to turn the staircase the full 90 degrees, it can be adjusted to less if that suits your specification.

Staircase going

The staircase going is the actual foot rooms you have on the step; you can view this in the drawing. The higher you are going the more comfortable the staircase, its measured from the back to the front of the tread. Space saving staircase can have as little as 18 cm, this is to save space in the room, but main staircases tend to be between 19 cm to 21 cm as standard.

MEASUREMENT OF FLOOR-TO-FLOOR HEIGHT

Start by figuring out how high the staircase should be. Here you need to measure from (finished floor) ground floor to finished floor on 1st floor. As shown on the drawing.

Rise height of a stair

If your floor height is 270 cm, you can use a staircase with 11, 12 and 13 treads. More treads provide a lower rise height of the staircase. If you want a comfortable staircase to climb, you should choose a rise height in the range of 18 - 21 cm, but if you want the stairs to take up less space in the room, you can choose a higher rise. At a high rise you will find that the staircase is steeper to climb. Rise height you find like this: Floor-to-floor height / Numbers of treads The best comfort is achieved at a rise height between 18 - 21 cm.

MEASUREING YOUR STAIRWAY OPENING

If you have an existing opening, then measure the width and length. This will be vital in choosing which format and staircase will suit you best. All our staircases have a minimum opening size which you view on the dimension sheets available on the product page. If you can’t achieve minimum then the staircase won’t fit, any measurement over the minimum will be okay.

If your staircase is for a new project and you do not have opening yet, then you are free to pick the staircase you want and make opening size according to the dimensions. Under each staircase product page on our website, you can find the Dimensions under "Downloads" pick the PDF "Dimensions". In the PDF you will find the opening size (length and width) for the staircase you want.

Stairway opening size example from DIMENSIONS PDF

This is an example of a quarter turn staircase with 14 treads. The black arrows and number show the dimensions of the stairs and the red arrows show the minimum size of the opening. We recommend you have an opening 7 cm to 10 cm wider than the staircase. This is to ensure you have space to install banister of they are positioned on the outside of the tread, but all allow the handrail to be comfortable to climb, too close to a wall and you will have no space for your hand! This is the same for spiral staircase if you choose a 120 cm staircase you will need a square or round hole 10 cm wider.

MEASUREMENT FOR THE LANDING SUPPORT

You will need to consider where you intend to land the staircase, this will mean taking into consideration the size of the joint or structure above the ceiling height. Therefore, we recommend you measure floor to floor rather than floor to ceiling, just like we show on our drawings.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

You will need to consider any internal impediments that could affect the comfort of your staircase. This could be a slanted ceilings or window frame with ledge, these could affect the flow of the staircase if they are with the minimum floor space we advise. A TOP TIP is to lay your staircase out on the floor using paint tape or newspaper, this will give you a clear indicator on how much space the staircase will take up in your room space.