ABSTRACT
Staircases should enable safe access between floors in houses. Some 200,000 accidents occur each year on domestic stairs, including almost 600 fatalities. There has been significant development and recording of good design and construction practice in the last 200 years, culminating in statutory guidance in the Building Regulations. This chapter examines some of the key design issues related to the safety of staircases, describes the design and construction of typical simple domestic timber staircases and considers the common defects relating to both design and construction.
