Staircase Calculator

This is an easy calculator you can use to determine the rise:

(RISE: the height of one stair in a staircase. This is the amount of vertical distance someone moves when he or she steps from one stair onto the next. Per most Building Codes, the rise should be between 5" and 7¾" with the ideal rise for a residence being 7")

and the run:

(RUN: the horizontal distance of one stair in a staircase. It is how far "in" the stair goes which gives the amount of room for someone's foot as he or she climbs the stairs. Per most Building Codes, the run should be between 8¼" and 14". An intermediate run is 11". See tread for comparison to run (the horizontal distance of one stair in a staircase. It is the run plus the nosing . Per most Building Codes, the tread should be between 9¼" and 14". An intermediate tread is 12".

of each step in your staircase and the length of boards you need to buy for your stair stringers.

 


Numbers can be entered with a decimal or fraction (i.e. 8.0625 or 8 1/16).


  1. Measure the 'total rise' (from the surface of the upper floor to the surface of the lower floor). Use either inches or centimeters.

  2. Enter this amount into Total Rise and set calculator for either inches or centimeters.

  3. Select a common rise-run combination from Simple or enter your own in Custom.

  4. Press the Calculate button and read the results in Exact Measurements

  5. Press the Print Results button at the bottom of the page. This displays a new page. To print this new page, go to the File menu at the top of the window. Then click on Print.


 
Calculator is set for: Inches  Centimeters

Total Rise  Simple

Custom: Rise Run

Click to calculate exact measurements
Exact Measurements:
Rise    Run    Rises    Runs
Total Run    Length of Stringer Board