GuideHow to measure
How to measure for a new staircase.
Five measurements and a few photos are enough for us to start a design and quote. Rough figures are fine at this stage. The final design is worked out from exact measurements before anything is made.
- A tape measure that reads in millimetres
- Your phone for a few photos
- Ten minutes, ideally with someone to hold the other end
01What to measure
Five measurements, seen from the side.
Floor-to-floor height
From the finished lower floor to the finished upper floor. If the flooring isn't down yet, tell us what's going on and how thick it is. This is the most important number.
Stairwell opening
The length of the hole in the upper floor, and its width. Measure at both ends: openings are often not quite square.
Floor length the stair can use
How far the stair can run across the lower floor, from where it may start to the wall or edge under the opening.
Headroom
From the underside of the upper floor straight down to the step below it. Too little and people knock their heads.
Upper floor thickness
From the top of the upper floor to the ceiling underneath, at the edge of the opening.
Width, and the walls around it
The width you have for the stair, and which sides have walls. Note doors, windows, radiators and sockets nearby.
02Step calculator
A first look at your steps.
Enter your floor-to-floor height to see roughly how many steps a straight stair needs and how much floor it takes. It's a starting point, not a design.
03Photos
Four photos that help us most.
From the bottom
Standing where the stair would start, looking up at the opening.
From the top
Looking down through the opening to the floor below.
The opening from below
So we can see the floor edge, beams and ceiling.
Anything in the way
Doors, windows, radiators, sockets and pipes near the stair.
04Tips
Getting the numbers right.
- Measure in millimetres, and measure twice.
- Take each measurement in two or three places. Floors and walls are rarely perfectly level or square, so send us the smallest figure and mention the difference.
- Measure to finished floor levels. If carpet, timber or tiles are still to come, tell us the planned thickness.
- If you're replacing a stair, measure the space, not the old stair: it may not have fitted well.
- Not sure about a number? Send what you have with photos and we'll ask.
05For reference
UK limits for stairs in a home.
For stairs in houses and flats in England, Approved Document K of the Building Regulations sets these limits. Your building control body has the final say for your project.
- Rise of each step
- 220 mm at most
- Going of each step
- 220 mm at least
- Pitch
- 42° at most
- Two rises plus one going
- 550 to 700 mm
- Headroom
- 2.0 m (less is allowed for some loft conversions)
- Handrail height
- 900 to 1000 mm above the pitch line
Got your numbers?
Send them with your photos and we'll come back with a design and quote.
Get a quote