Loft Stairs Minimum Width
Where the stairs reach the floor above accomodations can be made for pitched roofs so that the centre of the stairs gives 19m of headroom.
Loft stairs minimum width. There is no minimum width listed for a domestic staircase in the building regulations though for loft conversions the generally accepted minimum width is 600mm but between 700mm and 750mm is usually recommended. The industry standard for stair widths is 860mm but its not uncommon to see stairs between 800mm-900mm. On staircases with a turn its acceptable to have each flight a different width like on the example to the right.
However please check all available information in. The minimum clear width at and below the handrail shall not be less than 31-12 inches with a one sided handrail and 27 inches where handrails are on both sides. The treads must be between 220 and 300mm over the wider part of the tread.
Our architect has planned the stair to conform to building regs for everything else but there is no minimum width for the loft stairs apparently. 900mm is a reasonable measurement used in dwellings. Ideally Id like to go with a 28-30 width.
Flights with a width of less than one metre should have at least one handrail and but on both sides if they are more extensive than this. What is the legal width of a set of stairs that will only have minimal access. 600mm is the minimum width only if the stair allows access to one room normally an attic stair If it is more than one room then the minimum width is 840mm but 860 is more standard.
However when it comes to loft stairs the rules are more relaxed allowing for the fact that awkward sloping ceilings often need to be accommodated. So from wall to handrail. The code requires that the stair shall not be less than 36 inches in clear width at all points above the permitted handrail height.
Standard rough openings for typical attic pull-down stairs 22-12 x 54 for the smallest pull-down stairway 25 x 54 - most-common small width pull-down attic stair 25-12 x 64 - often used for a longer pull-down ladder attic access from a higher than standard ceiling. Is there a minimum width for stairs upto a loft conversion. So how narrow is bearable.