| Okay here's another
one of those tricky stairway building codes that I tried to simplify.
The minimum width for any stairway is 44 inch, for any buildings with
more than 50 occupants. This building code might apply to large public
buildings that would require people to pass each other as they walk up
and down the stairs, without being inconvenienced.
The minimum width for any stairway that has less then 49 occupants is 36
inches. This would include individual dwellings or houses.
I simplified the verbiage used in most building codes, so that almost
anyone could understand it. When you read the building codes in the
U.B.C. or I.B.C., they're very intimidating for the layperson. There are
other exceptions to and for this building code, but these are the
basics.
The minimum stairway width measurements don't include protruding objects
like handrails which can't protrude into the center of the stairway more
than 3 1/2 inches. Decorative trim and skirt boards can't protrude more
than an inch and a half into the stairway.
To measure the minimum width of any stairway, measure from finished wall
to finished wall. In the picture above, this measurement would be from
the right side of the finished drywall or wallboard to the left side.
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