Glossary

ANGLED STAIR

A stair in which successive flights are at an angle of other than 180° to each other (often 90°) with an intermediate platform between them.

BALUSTER

One of a series of closely spaced upright members which support the handrail in a railing.

BALUSTRADE

A railing which is composed of balusters capped by a handrail, often serving as an architectural feature.

BEVEL

See Pitch.

BULLNOSE STEP

A tread with one or both ends having a semi-circular shape in plan; usually the first tread at the bottom of a flight.

CAP

A fitting used to close the end of a pipe or tubular rail or post, or the top end of a tubular newel.

CARRIER ANGLE

An angle connected to the inside face of a stringer to form a supporting ledge for the end of a tread or riser.

CARRIER BAR CHECKERED PLATE

A flat bar used in the same way as a carrier angle. See Floor Plate.

CIRCULAR STAIR

A stair which, in plan view, has an open circular form, with a single center of curvature.

CLOSURE BAR

A flat metal bar connected in the field to the top and/or bottom surface or edge of a wall stringer to close gaps between the stringer and the wall.

CURVED STAIR

A stair which, in plan view, has two or more centers of curvature, being oval, elliptical or some other compound curved form.

DROP

A fitting used to close the bottom end of a tubular newel.

EASEMENT

That curved portion of a handrail which forms a transition, in a vertical plane, between a horizontal and an inclined section of a handrail.

FASCIA

The exposed facing of the outer edge of a platform or floor; usually similar in detail to the face stringer.

FILL

A cementitious material such as concrete or terrazzo, which is placed over a metal substructure to provide the wearing surface of a tread or platform.

FIXED METAL STAIR

A permanently stationary series of three or more steps in one or more flights, providing pedestrian access between different floors or levels.

FLIGHT

An uninterrupted series of steps.

FLIGHT HEADER

See Header, Flight.

FLIGHT RISE

The vertical distance between the floor or platforms connected by a flight.

FLIGHT RUN

The horizontal distance between the faces of the first and last risers in a flight.

FLOOR PLATE

A steel plate having a raised pattern to provide a non-slip wearing surface; referred to as "tread plate" when made of aluminum.

GRAB RAIL (GRAB BAR)

A short length of rail located for safety and convenience.

GUARD-RAIL SYSTEM

A railing system usually located for protection of building occupants at or near the outer edge of a stair flight, ramp, landing, platform, balcony or accessible roof; at perimeter of any opening or accessible surface, such as an opening for stairway; or at a location where operating condition requires limitation of access to designated area, to guard against accidental fall or injury. See Railing System.

GUSSET

A plate used to construct or reinforce an angular joint between two or more members.

HAND OF SPIRAL STAIR

A term used to designate the direction of turn of a spiral stair.

Right-hand refers to a stair on which the user turns counter- clockwise as he ascends.

Left-hand refers to a stair on which the user turns clockwise as he ascends.

HANDRAIL

The member which is normally grasped by the hand for support. This member may be part of the railing system or may be mounted on the wall or other building element. It is often, but not necessarily, the top member of the railing system. When part of the stair-rail system it parallels the pitch of the stair flight. See Wall Handrail.

HANDRAIL BRACKET

A device attached to a wall or other surface to support a handrail.

A left-hand handrail bracket is one which is located on the user's left as he ascends the stairs.

A right-hand handrail bracket is one which is located on the user's right as he ascends the stairs.

HANGER

A load-carrying tension member used to support a stair framing member by suspension from the floor construction or other support above.

HEADER, FLIGHT

A horizontal structural member at a floor or platform level, supporting the end(s) of one or more stringers.

HEADER, PLATFORM

A horizontal member supporting platform construction but carrying no stringers.

HEADROOM

The minimum vertical distance from the top surface of a tread or platform to the ceiling, soffit or other overhead obstruction, measured at the outer edge of the tread or platform.

I.P.S.

Iron Pipe Size; a nominal inside diameter dimension of pipe.

KICK PLATE

A vertical plate forming a lip or low curb at the open edge of platform or floor or at the back edge or open end of a tread on an open riser stair.

LAMB'S TONGUE

An ornamental curved and tapered fitting terminating a handrail.

LANDING

See Platform.

LATERAL SCROLL

A fitting which curves in a horizontal plane, used to terminate a handrail.

NEWEL

A post member supporting the end of a railing or serving as a common support for two railings.

NOSING

That part of a tread or platform which projects as a square, rounded or rounded and molded edge beyond the vertical face of the riser below it.

PAN BRACKET

See Carrier Angle or Carrier Bar.

PAN TREAD PARALLEL STAIR

See Tread, Pan Type.

PITCH

A stair consisting of flights which parallel each other and are separated by one or more intermediate platforms.

PITCH BLOCK

The angle of slope of a flight, measured either in degrees or by the ratio of rise to run.

PITCH DIMENSION

The distance between the bases of the top and bottom risers in a flight, measured parallel to the pitch.

PLATFORM

A horizontal surface having a dimension parallel to the stringer greater than a tread width, occurring in a stair at the end of a flight or between flights, either at a floor level or between floors. In the latter case it is sometimes referred to as an intermediate platform or a landing.

PLATFORM HEADER

See Header, Platform.

PRE-ASSEMBLED STAIR

A stair whose components are assembled in the plant to make up units of varying sizes and degrees of complexity.

PRE-ERECTED STAIR

A stair unit for multi-storied buildings designed to be self supporting. Such units can be stacked one upon the other and field connected to form stair towers.

RAIL

See Handrail.

RAILING SYSTEM

A framework of vertical, horizontal or inclined members or panels, or some combination of these, supporting a handrail and located at the edge of a flight, platform or floor as a safety barrier.

RAKE

See Pitch.

RAKE DIMENSION

See Pitch Dimension.

RISE

See Flight Rise.

RISER

The vertical or inclined face of a step, extending from the back edge of one tread to the outer edge of the tread or lower edge of the nosing next above it.

RISER, OPEN

A term used to describe a stair having open spaces rather than risers between treads.

RISER HEIGHT

The vertical distance between the top surfaces of two successive treads.

RUN

See Flight Run and Tread Run.

SAFETY NOSING

A nosing having a slip resistant surface flush with the tread surface.

SAFETY TREAD

A tread which has a slip resistant top surface.

SANITARY COVE

A small projection formed in the face of a metal riser along its full length to provide an angled or curved transition between the tread surface and the riser face to facilitate cleaning.

SCISSOR STAIR

A straight stair which in plan view has two parallel flights between floors but in which the stairs are at a 180° angle to each other.

SHIP'S LADDER

A ship's ladder is named for its use as a stairway access between decks of a ship. These ladders ascend at steep angles of not less than 50° nor more than 77° with the deck, and cover the angularity of ascent between that of conventional stairs and straight ladders. They are not used for public stairways in buildings.

SIDE MOUNT

A method of railing support in which the posts are anchored to a vertical surface such as a fascia or stringer face. Also referred to as fascia bracket or fascia flange.

SOFFIT

The under side of a stair, whether exposed construction or an applied finish material.

SPIRAL STAIR

A stair with a closed circular form, uniform sector shaped treads and a supporting center column.

LIMITED ACCESS SPIRAL STAIR

A spiral stair serving an occupant load of 10 or less and from an area of 600 square feet or less.

PRIMARY ACCESS SPIRAL STAIR

A spiral stair serving an occupant load of 50 or less.

STAIR

A flight or series of connected flights extending between two or more floors within a given floor area or stairwell.

STAIR-RAIL SYSTEM STAIRWAY

A railing system located along open side of stair or platform. See Stair.

STAIRWELL

The vertical shaft space in a building occupied by a stair; also, the open well space between a series of flights.

STEP

The combination of a riser and the tread immediately above it.

STEP RISE

See Riser Height.

STORY HEIGHT

The vertical distance, in a building, between one finished floor and the next.

STRAIGHT RUN STAIR

A stair extending in a straight line between one floor and the next, and consisting of one flight or a series of flights with one or more intermediate platforms.

STRING

See Stringer, the preferred term.

STRINGER

An inclined structural member supporting a flight, or a structural member having an inclined section with a horizontal section at one or both ends, supporting a flight and one or two platforms.

STRINGER, BOXED

A stringer having a hollow square or rectangular cross section.

STRINGER, CENTER

A stringer located under a flight at its mid-width and supporting the treads, or treads and risers, by cantilever action.

STRINGER, CLOSED

See Stringer, Boxed.

STRINGER, FACE

A stringer which supports, on one side, the ends of treads and risers, and is exposed on the other side.

STRINGER, OPEN

A channel used as a stringer.

STRINGER, PLATE

A flat plate used as a stringer.

STRINGER, PLATFORM

A stringer, or that part of a stringer, which is used to support a platform.

STRINGER, TUBE

A stringer made from a metal tube section.

STRINGER, WALL

A stringer placed alongside a wall and usually carrying no railing.

STRUT

A structural member which resists axial compression loads. Generally used to support a stair framing member by column action.

SUB-PLATFORM

The metal subfloor over which a fill is placed to provide a platform.

SUB-TREAD

See Tread, Pan Type.

TOE BOARD

See Kick Plate.

TOE PLATE

See Kick Plate.

TRANSFER RAIL

See Grab Rail.

TRAVEL AREA

That area with which a stair user might normally make physical contact.

TREAD

The horizontal member of a step.

TREAD ANGLE

See Carrier Angle.

TREAD BAR

See Carrier Bar.

TREAD, GRATING TYPE

A tread fabricated from metal grating.

TREAD, PAN TYPE

A section formed from metal sheet to receive a fill and provide, when filled, either a tread or a combination of plates.

TREAD, PLATE TYPE

A tread, or combination tread and riser, fabricated from metal plate, floor plate, tread plate or a combination of plates.

TREAD BRACKET

See Carrier Angle or Carrier Bar.

TREAD LENGTH

The dimension of a tread measured perpendicular to the normal line of travel on a stair.

TREAD PLATE

A product similar to floor plate, but made of aluminum.

TREAD RUN

The horizontal distance between two consecutive risers, or, on an open riser stair, the horizontal distance between nosings or the outer edges of successive treads, all measured perpendicular to the front edges of the nosings or treads.

TREAD WIDTH

The tread run plus the projection of the nosing, if any.

VERTICAL BARRIER

A wall or railing adjacent or attached to the edge of a flight, platform or floor, to prevent persons from falling.

VOLUTE

A spiral or scroll-shaped fitting used to terminate a handrail. A bracket used for anchoring.

WALL CLIP OR FLANGE WALL HANDRAIL

A handrail attached to a wall adjacent to a stair and paralleling the pitch of the flight; also used along walkways, ramps, and corridors. Also referred to as a "wall rail."

WINDER

A tread having less width at one end than at the other.