Concrete Stairs

Plain concrete stairs are used in place of stone stairs these days. They are mostly used for the entrance to the buildings. These steps are mostly of spandril type and are supported as in the case of stone stairs.

Now-a-days, RCC stairs are mostly used in all types of buildings. Reinforced concrete stairs derive a lot of advantages compared to other types. They are as follows:

1. It can be easily moulded into any required geometrical shape.
2. It has high resistance to wear and fire better than any other material.
3. It needs less bulky sections, thereby more headroom may be attained.
4. It is less noisy.
5. It gives highly attractive appearance with appropriate finishes.
6. It can be kept clean.
7. It can be easily rendered non-slippery.
8. It can be designed to accommodate greater widths and longer spans.

A typical RCC slab stair is shown in Fig. 21.14.

Figure 21.14 Typical RCC slab stair

Concrete stairs may be spanning horizontally or longitudinally. Stairs spanning horizontally are supported at each side by walls, stringer beams, or at one side by wall and at the other side by a beam. Stairs spacing longitudinally span between supports at the bottom and top of the flight and remain unsupported at the top and the bottom.