STAIRS - GENERAL TIPS

BEST PRACTICE

Stairs in Revit are created with the Stair Tool. It is a subprogram that attempts to create a stair based on the parameters you provide.

Unfortunately it is not that good at creating realistic looking stairs. Unless you have a very simple stair it is nearly impossible to get stringers, landings and railings to look correct.

I recommend you go as far as you can then give up. Use detailing in large scale views to get them looking correct. Don't worry about what they look like in large scale views (1:100 and bigger).

DEFINE THE STAIR WITH SETOUT LINES

Define your stair before using the stair tool. As a minimum set out the centreline of each run.

You need to do this because you can only draw stairs by their centreline.

Use Reference planes or Symbolic Lines (Annotation > Detail Line).

DON'T use Model Lines, you don't want them to appear in other views.

Delete them when finished.

If using Run doesn’t make a useful stair, try drawing it explicitly. Draw Riser lines first, then Boundary lines around the outside.

Remember that Risers should be the correct distance apart, and that separate Boundary lines must be used for landing edges and stair runs.

Start drawing Risers from the top of the stair, otherwise you will need to flip the stair when finished.

EDITING BOUNDARY LINES

Each Boundary segment of a stair has a Slope and a Height Correction parameter.

If a stair landing or stair stringer is not behaving how you would like try changing these parameters.

You’ll find it in the Option bar when editing the offending item.

STAIRS HEAD & FLOORS

If the floor at the head of the stair creates the last step (i.e. riser) your stair will say it needs another riser. You can ignore this warning. But be aware that the edge of a floor doesn't look like a stair riser: you can't slope it for example.

Another method is to create the floor as a stair landing. This method is best used in stair wells.

CONCRETE STAIRS WITH A FINISH

Concrete stairs with stone or tile finish should be modeled as two separate stairs so the finish can be turned off in concrete set-out drawings.

But you don't need to do this until you have to set up concrete set-out drawings. Until then they can be modeled as a single stair.

Easiest way to do this is to copy the single stair to create the second stair:

• 1. Go to a section or elevation view where you see the stair side on.

  2. Copy the stair. Move the copied stair slightly so it is not over the top of the original stair.

  3. Edit the original stair.

  4. Move stair down using Base Offset & Top Offset by finish thickness (instance parameters).

  5. Turn off all labels & arrows.

  6. Change Type properties; Stringer Carriage Height & Landing Carriage Height to match just concrete thickness (i.e. deduct finish thickness).

• 1. Edit the copied stair, first make it a new type by selecting a different pre-existing type or Duplicate it.

  2. Untick Monolithic Stairs.

  3. Change Tread Material & Riser Material to match finish material.

  4. Change Tread Thickness & Riser Thickness to match finish thickness.

  5. Set Right Stringer & Left Stringer to None.

• 1. Move the copied stair so it sits on top of the original concrete stair.

  2. If you have landings you may need to edit the finish stair riser location at landings.

  3. Select the stair, Edit button.

  4. Delete treads and draw a new ones at the correct locations (moving them will drag Boundary lines along with them).

  5. Split Boundary lines as required. If you problems with boundary lines showing at an angle when they shouldn't set them to Flat in the modify bar.

PROBLEMS

STRINGERS DON'T WORK

Sometimes you just can't get stringers looking right.

An alternative is to turn stringers off in the stair and use a Railing as stringers.