Stair tread

Last updated

A stair tread is the horizontal portion of a set of stairs on which a person walks. The tread can be composed of wood, metal, plastic, or other materials. In residential settings, treads can be covered in carpeting. Stair treads can come in non-slip varieties, particularly in commercial or industrial locations. [1]

Contents

Styles of tread

There are a number of different styles of tread:

Mid flight treads.

Straight or flier.
A standard oblong shaped tread. used in a straight flight.
Diminishing flier.
Set into the straight section of flight before a turn, with one end narrower than the other Used to change the pitch of the handrail before a 180º turn. [2]
Winder.
wider at one end, used to turn the flight.
Kite winder.
A quadrilateral shaped tread, used in the corner of a turn: hence the kite name.

Feature or starting treads. [3]

These treads are used to embellish the start of a flight of stairs, they may have either a straight front to them or a commode/curved front to enhance them further.

Curtail.
An ornate tread that follows the spiral of a volute handrail, the back of the tread will cut into itself and then return along the flight.
Bullnose.
A straight tread with the front corners rounded off.
"D" ends.
So called as they look like a D shape attached to the end of the tread. A common style that may be carried up the flight for a number of treads.
Tower.
The tower feature is a cylindrical addition to the front corner of a tread, intended for setting a newel post onto, the tower may be positioned dependent on the handrail termination.
Commode front.
The addition of a curve to the front of a tread to create a more decorative feature.

USAB & ADA compliance

According to the United States Access Board, stair treads in buildings shall have uniform tread depths that are 11 inches, or 280 mm, at minimum. Treads are not permitted to have a slope steeper than 1:48. [4]

All stair tread installations must comply with Regulation 302 of the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. The regulation states that the surface of the [tread] must be firm, stable, and slip-resistant. [5]

Notable sets of stair treads

The Dylan's Candy Bar flagship location features a stair case consisting of 53 resin stair treads and three landings that are embedded with real candy and equipped with inserted abrasion strips.

China's first children's design museum, Kids Museum of Glass, has alternating black and white stair treads on its central staircase, earning the nickname "The Piano Staircase". [6]

As part of the Underground Shopping Center Public Art Project, the Seoul Metropolitan Facilities Management Corporation built a piano staircase in the underground passage at Euljiro 1-ga Station. Each step lit up and played a note as it was walked on. [7]

IDEO Labs' interns created a musical staircase during summer of 2011. Each tread played a different sound when stepped on. [8]

Johns Hopkins University students turned a Hackerman Hall staircase into a piano, with a new note per step. The Hopkins Robotics Club modified the staircase so the treads played the C scale. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stairs</span> Construction designed to bridge a large vertical distance by dividing it into steps

Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage to the other level by stepping from one to another step in turn. Steps are very typically rectangular. Stairs may be straight, round, or may consist of two or more straight pieces connected at angles.

A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar of a staircase. It can also refer to an upright post that supports and/or terminates the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but the term can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase. Although its primary purpose is structural, newels have long been adorned with decorative trim and designed in different architectural styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loretto Chapel</span> Former Roman Catholic church

The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States, is a former Roman Catholic church that is now used as a museum and a wedding chapel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treasury Building, Brisbane</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

The Treasury Building, also previously known as the New Public Offices, is a heritage-listed former government public administration building located at 21 Queen Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1886 to 1928 for the Queensland Government. On 21 October 1992 the Italian Renaissance style building was added to the Queensland Heritage Register.

StairMaster is an American company specializing in the design and production of fitness equipment. They sell cardiovascular and strength equipment such as stair climbing machines, TreadClimber cardio machines and dumbbell sets. The Stairmaster was so widely used that people referred to nearly all other brands of step climbers as StairMasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">175th Street station (IND Eighth Avenue Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Manhattan

The 175th Street station is a station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, at the intersection of 175th Street and Fort Washington Avenue, it is served by the A train at all times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stair climbing</span>

Stair climbing is the climbing of a flight of stairs. It is often described as a "low-impact" exercise, often for people who have recently started trying to get in shape. A common exhortation in health pop culture is "Take the stairs, not the elevator".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stair lift</span> Chair to move people up and down stairs

A stair lift is a mechanical device for lifting people, typically those with disabilities, up and down stairs. For sufficiently wide stairs, a rail is mounted to the treads of the stairs. A chair or lifting platform is attached to the rail. A person gets onto the chair or platform and is lifted up or down the stairs by the chair which moves along the rail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">49th Street station (BMT Broadway Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Manhattan

The 49th Street station is a local station on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. Located at West 49th Street and Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, it is served by the N train at all times, the R train at all times except late nights, the W train on weekdays, and the Q train during late nights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Survivors' Staircase</span> Last visible remaining original structure above ground level at the World Trade Center site

The Survivors' Staircase was the last visible remaining original structure above ground level at the World Trade Center site. It was originally an outdoor flight of granite-clad stairs and two escalators which connected Vesey Street to the World Trade Center's Austin J. Tobin Plaza. During the September 11 attacks, the stairs served as an escape route for hundreds of evacuees from 5 World Trade Center, a 9-floor building adjacent to the Twin Towers. The staircase is now an important feature of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulip Hill</span> Historic house in Maryland, United States

Tulip Hill is a plantation house located about one mile from Galesville in Anne Arundel County in the Province of Maryland. Built between 1755 and 1756, it is a particularly fine example of an early Georgian mansion, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 for its architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suntop Homes</span> House in Ardmore, Pennsylvania

The Suntop Homes, also known under the early name of The Ardmore Experiment, were quadruple residences located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and based largely upon the 1935 conceptual Broadacre City model of the minimum houses. The design was commissioned by Otto Tod Mallery of the Tod Company in 1938 in an attempt to set a new standard for the entry-level housing market in the United States and to increase single-family dwelling density in the suburbs. In cooperation with Frank Lloyd Wright, the Tod Company secured a patent for the unique design, intending to sell development rights for Suntops across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Escalator</span> Moving staircase

An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizontal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culver City Stairs</span> California State Park in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles County

Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is a 57-acre (0.23 km2) California State Park is located just southwest of downtown Culver City. To some Los Angeles area residents, the site is more commonly known as the Culver City Stairs. This outdoor staircase is designed into the trails leading up to a view of the greater Los Angeles area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perron (staircase)</span>

In architecture, a perron generally refers to an external stairway to a building. Curl notes three more-specific usages: the platform-landing reached by symmetrical flights of steps leading to the piano nobile of a building; the steps themselves; or the platform base of edifices like a market cross. Perron also refers to a type of Belgian civic monument, which usually sits on a perron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dornoch Terrace Bridge</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Dornoch Terrace Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge at Dornoch Terrace, West End, Queensland, Australia. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 1 October 2007.

Nosing is the horizontal, protruding edge of a stair where most foot traffic frequently occurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westpac Bank Building, Townsville</span> Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Westpac Bank Building is a heritage-listed bank building at 337–343 Flinders Street, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Hall and Cook and built in 1935 by Stuart Brothers (Sydney). It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 May 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Step street</span>

A step street is a thoroughfare fitted with steps for pedestrian traffic rather than paved or tracked for motor vehicles. It is a practical way of providing access up and down a slope that is too steep for automobiles. Step streets consist of a staircase of stone or concrete steps, often with a handrail on posts down the center, and sometimes lined with trees. Examples can be found in hilly urban areas. Step streets fell out of popularity with urban designers as the use of the automobile increased in cities. In the early 2010s, efforts were made to restore some of these open-air staircases in New York City.

Parafield Airport Air Traffic Control Tower is a heritage-listed Air traffic control tower at Kittyhawk Lane, Parafield, South Australia, Australia. It was added to the Australian Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 January 2016.

References

  1. "Non-Slip Abrasive Stair Treads - Amstep.com". www.amstep.com. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  2. Modern Practical Joinery. Linden Publishing Company. p. 319. ISBN   0-941936-08-2.
  3. "Feature tread designs". knostairs.com. 25 April 2019.
  4. Yanchulis, Dave. "Chapter 5: General Site and Building Elements - United States Access Board". www.access-board.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  5. "2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design". www.ada.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  6. "This museum is entirely made of glass". PSFK. 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  7. ""Underground Landscape of Seoul"". Seoul Metropolitan Government. 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  8. "Musical Staircase | IDEO Labs" . Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  9. "Musical stairs: Johns Hopkins students transform steps into giant piano". The Hub. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-01.