Step-by-step Guidelines to Construct a Concrete Stair

KOLKATA, India - Nov. 20, 2020 - PRLog -- This civil engineering article is written on the details of the concrete stairs and the precast concrete steps. The design of reinforced concrete stairs is done as slabs and it needs structural analysis of load, support and span conditions.

The concrete stairs are categorized as cast in-situ concrete stairs and pre-cast concrete stairs.

Concrete Stairs Design

• form of stair and separate treads and risers may differ as per requirements
• cantilevered designs can be made
• thorough formwork and weight of the construction is a vital factor to consider
• pre-cast stair elements can be used
• Useful where fire-resistant construction is necessary
• The concrete stairs have similarities with timber stairs regarding the width, rise, going, headroom, and structure of the flights of steps

Building Concrete Steps

Simple reinforced concrete steps with proper formwork structure depend on the following basic requirements:

• normally concrete mix M15 (1:2:4) / 20mm aggregate
• minimum "cover" to reinforcement should be 15mm or bar diameter or higher value for 1-hour fire resistance
• waist slab thickness – 100 – 250mm (based on stair type)
• mainly mild steel or tor steel reinforcement is utilized
• the continuous handrail of 840 – 915mm height over pitch line is needed on both sides of stair required when stair width remains in excess of 1060mm

Benefits of building concrete stairs:

• contain fire-resisting qualities
• long-lasting, strong and atheistically beautiful
• design can be made for greater widths and spans
• can be cleaned without any problem
• less maintenance cost
• mainly suitable for framed structures

Concrete Finishes

Proper floor finishing is necessary for both cast-in-situ and pre-cast concrete stairs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairs%20rel)(http://www.constructionnews.co.in/how-to-calculate-quanti...).

• usually, the thickness of finish should be less than provided in floors
• trowelling in upper surfaces of the tread with carborundum dust, casting in rubber or fixing a special nosing cover like aluminum alloy, non-slip metals, etc.