How to Measure Your Staircase
Measuring your staircase in anticipation of updating your present one, can be seem like a daunting task. With our quick guide on how to measure your staircase, you will find that as long as you can use a tape measure, it's a really simple procedure.
For each section of staircase, i.e. the stairs, landing or any other extra sections your staircase may have, keep the measurements separate for each section. This will then make it easier for working out the exact amount of materials needed for your job and helping to minimise wasteage.
Standard staircase
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| This measurement will measure the length of handrail and baserail that you will need for the particular run you are measuring. This should be measured between the newel posts, ignoring the newel caps. | This measurement will measure the going of the stairs. Along with measurement A, this will help to determine the pitch (or angle) of your staircase and ultimately, the amount of spindles required for your stairs. Unfortunately most houses have differing pitches of staircase, as houses have been built over many different decades, with no standardisation in staircases. | This measurement will measure the length of handrail and baserail that you will need for the particular landing run that you are measuring. This should be measured between the newel posts, ignoring the newel caps. |
Cut string / Open tread staircase
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| This measurement will measure the length of handrail that you will need for the particular run you are measuring. This should be measured between the newel posts, ignoring the newel caps. |
This measurement is to determine the amount of open treads there are on the staircase. 2 spindles are used per step and due to the pitch of the stairs, a 900mm spindle and a 1100mm spindle are required for each step. |
Diminishing staircase
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| This measurement is required to be measured from the newel post (ignoring any newel cap) to the point where the handrail hits the ceiling line. This measurement will work out partially the amount of handrail needed. | This measurement is measured from the point of the ceiling line, to where the ceiling line connects to the wall. This measurement will work out partially the amount of handrail or baserail needed to run along the ceiling line. |
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| This measurement will measure the length of baserail that you will need for the particular run you are measuring. This should be measured between the newel post and the wall where the staircase finishes. | This measurement will measure the going of the stairs. Along with measurement C, this will help to determine the pitch (or angle) of your staircase and ultimately the amount of spindles required for your stairs. Unfortunately most houses have differing pitches of staircase, as houses have been built over many different decades, with no standardisation in staircases. |