Stair-Building and the Steel Square

On entering a building, almost the first thing that meets the eye is the staircase and unconsciously it is made to serve as an indicator of the quality of the architecture. If the design is poor or the construction faulty, this flaw immediately gives the visitor a bad impression of the whole building. Furthermore, stair-building is a rather difficult subject and the principles involved are very little understood, which is evidenced by the fact that the layouts as furnished by architects in their plans are often improperly done.

Probably more mistakes occur in connection with the stairway of a building than with any other construction feature. It is with the idea, therefore, of giving a complete though simple presentation of the construction methods as applied to standard design of staircases, that this book has been prepared.

The article discusses straight and winding stairs, stairs with well hole, layouts for curved turns, the proper proportions of rise and width of tread, the design of hand railings and many other problems, the solution of which will be found very useful.

Coupled with this article is a most instructive section on the Steel Square, containing many applications of this useful instrument to roof and other types of construction.