Hi Loneislander

I live in the UK in a house that was built in 1908.

I've just measured my stairs which has 14 steps of approx 7½"

I don't know of any standards here or anywhere else.

Probo

Wow, Bryan,

Your house is almost as old as you are...heheheh.

Carmen :)

Oh dear, Carmen

This is one of those days when I wish that we had let the French have Canada.

Bryan

Just kidding, Bryan...LOL

Hi Loneislander,

The German "Deutsche Industrie Norm" (DIN) covers almost everything one can think to standardize  - not just paper dimensions -  and is respected/used internationally. 

The DIN 18065 for stairways is being revised, probably minimally with regards to your question.  I found a company's website that provides the (new?) definitions for rise and tread sizes in the blue table: 
http://www.treppenmeister.com/de/DIN18065-Treppentechnik

Column 1:  type of building:  dwellings with max. 2 apartments;
                              other buildings; all buildings
Column 2:  type of stairs:  to living quarters; to basements not lived in;
                            to attics not lived in; other stairs
                            required by building code; those not required
                            by code
Column 3:  Usable width of stairs, min (in cm)
Column 4:  Rise, max (in cm) (footnote 2: but not <14 cm
Column 5:  Depth of tread, min (in cm) (footnote 3: but not >37 cm)

The table shows that public buildings and apartment houses must have lower rises than private dwellings and larger treads.
The other footnotes are about minimum treads for stairs where the tread extends under the next higher step.  (I'm sure my 55 year old stairs don't conform.)

I would be very surprised if DIN 18065 did not also include the details on the Stair Manufacturers' Assoc. site.  I know from experience that it calls for very close tolerances in the rises between floors or landings, i.e., one can't have a final bigger or smaller step at the end of a flight to fit a standard set of stairs in a building with an odd distance between floors.

Just as an aside, I was shown in Edinburgh that in some old buildings the third or fourth step from the entrance was higher than the others to cause unknowing visitors to stumble  - an early alarm system.

Regards, Myoarin

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is pretty well known for its steep (and narrow) stairways.  Some pictures can be found at Flickr:

[Flickr -- Steep Amsterdam Stairs]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveportigal/3557076600/

A connection to land scarcity and European norms of family housing seems clear enough in this residential setting.

regards, mathtalk

Wow, David, I bet those steps don't meet with the German DIN standards.

One more thing, the French ~have~ Canada :)

Hi, Loneislander

I perhaps should explain that Carmen (Steph) and I are old mates going back to 2002.

We first met through Google Answers, the foreunner of this site, which was noteworthy for its banter among many users.

In my opinion, Carmen is one of the best things ever to come out of Canada, a place that I have often visited but - alas - without ever meeting this lovely lady.

Maybe some day?

Bryan

Bryan,

You forgot that Carmen was born in Germany  - the source of many of the "best things" of that gender.

Loneislander,

Here is another article that mentions 2 to 1 being traditional, on page 104:  http://www.eupjournals.com/doi/pdfplus/10.3366/arch.2007.18.1.99

I live in Europe and have been to the Middle East and Central and SE Asia.  From my experience, 20th century stairs everywhere conform pretty much to the the US and DIN dimensions  - as do those in romanesque and gothic structures.  Roman and Moghul stairs often have higher risers, but that isn't of interest for your project.

I think David's first posting really answers your question  - everything else here just confirming that that a +/-7 inch rise is the norm.

Myo

Probo,

We fear letting the best "out" of Canada for fear we won't get it back.  I very much appreciate all of you and your banter.  I've only been around uclue for a few weeks and already it feels like a community.

You provide a service to the pathologically curious -- terminally lazy (me).  I've always asked questions of experts when I've had the chance and I've long wished that I could offer them something in exchange.  Until uclue there hasn't been a socially acceptable way of doing that  -- which has often left me not getting answers to questions I've long wanted answered.

I maintain a number of simultaneous research projects some of which are personal curiosities and some of which are commercial endeavors.  (At some point in the near future I expect to be asking, "Who claims to be the lowest cost patent lawyer in the US?")

All the best...

Please don't worry, Loneislander, we already have lots of Canadians here in the UK but we would only plan to keep them if they were really good at cricket or soccer.

This is highly unlikely considering that Canadians only play ice hockey.

Probo

"... considering that Canadians only play ice hockey."

But maybe Great Britain could/should recruit and naturalise a team of Canadians to play.  Even those who don't make Team Canada could probably improve on this record:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain_men%27s_national_ice_hockey_team#Olympic_record

Myo

The problem in the UK is not a shortage of potentially great Ice Hockey players (we could always import them from South Africa, the Caribbean or wherever) but a shortage of ice. This is much more difficult to import.

Funnily enough, I met a young woman at my local station yesterday when we were both going up to London and she told me she was going to Streatham so she could do some ice skating.

Evidently, the Brighton Ice Rink (which my daughters once used) has been closed.

Bryo

Bryan, I thought you did the Guardian crossword on the train to London.
Oh, I forgot, that only takes twenty minutes.

About those airplane stairs, Loneislander, if you mean the ones lowered from the planes, themselves, my experience and images of them suggest that they have higher risers, here, for example, steeper than 45°: 
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-366387-airplane-stairs.php

I also found this, which suggests that there doesn't seem to be sugnificant regulation of them.
http://www.swlearning.com/blaw/cases/torts/0609_torts_02.html

In more detail here:
http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=562b2c7b-842a-4d46-97e2-4971afc8e10f

(David may correct my interpretation of the above.)


If you are asking about the "roll/drive-up" stairs at airports, again, my experience is that they are usually steeper than standard stairs.  I also tried to calculate what the maximum riser could be for a couple of these, based on images  - counting the steps -  and the specifics about the equipment.  Click on "passanger stairs" on this site and further:
http://www.omegaaviation.com/index.html

(I counted 18 steps on the Stinar" stairs and 13 for the "Wollard".  When raised to max. doorsill height, the risers are certain more than 7.5 in.)

Here is another, 16 steps: 
https://www.aerospecialties.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=644

The risers, are of course, less high when the stairs are not raised to max. height.

Myo

Hey, look at what I've just found!

http://www.the-wooden-hill-company.co.uk/staircase-building-regulations-c89.html

I just Googled 'staircase makers' and there it was.

Probo