[weldergirl]

I bought an old metal spiral staircase from the 70's to attach to my deck outside to get to the yard. I'm trying to stay within code for resale (this is a new house. I added extra ballisters, but a friend mentioned the steps are only 2 feet wide and he thought this was not within code nowadays. Is this true? If so, what is code width? I live in NC. Also The top will be bolted to the deck and the bottom of the pole is a 5" x 10" plate with 4 bolt holes. After I pour a footing and small landing pad, how do I attach this and is this plate large enough for today's codes?

[InspectorDan]

Hi Welder Girl,

Congratulations on undertaking a difficult project. My reading of the 2006 IRC stair code indicates that you need at least a 10" deep tread at a point that is 12" from the inner radius of the circular stair.

If you go to Stairway to Webbin': Oops! We've Moved Upstairs! you might be able to get more specific info.

Good Luck!

[weldergirl]

Hi Welder Girl,

Congratulations on undertaking a difficult project. My reading of the 2006 IRC stair code indicates that you need at least a 10" deep tread at a point that is 12" from the inner radius of the circular stair.

If you go to Stairway to Webbin': Oops! We've Moved Upstairs! you might be able to get more specific info.

Good Luck!

Hi,
This web link you gave goes to a web designer not spiral staircases. Interesting about the tread depth but does the code say anything about the width requirements (from the center radius outward)?

[InspectorDan]

Sorry about the bad link WldrGrl. I took it off the pdf file in my reference folder. If you do a web search for IRC stair guidelines or some such thing you should be able to find a good recap of the requirements that talk about baluster spacing, railing height, handrail dimensions, tread and riser dimensions, etc. Best of luck to you in your project.