Stairs are an integral part of everyday life that often goes unnoticed by individuals. Passing by a set of stairs, it’s not likely that you’ll start to think about the design and health and safety considerations. Steel stringers, treads or balustrades are elements in a staircase that often go unnoticed but represent the structural pillars that ensure the functionality and safety of pedestrians and homeowners.
Today we’ll be taking a deep dive into the importance of steel stringers in your stairwell.
What is a Steel Stringer?
A steel stringer is the vertical support beam or board that functions as the stairway’s structural foundation; it’s referred to as the backbone in your staircase. This stringer supports any weight and movement distribution whilst allowing a point for the landing of your steps to be connected. These stringers can run along each side or through the centre of the staircase, with treads and risers being fixed.
Different stringers can be constructed with a range of materials and styles in mind, and these various design options can contribute to the look and functionality of your stairs. They can even be combined with different stair treads to provide an endless combination of designs.
Why Are Steel Stringers Important to the Safety of Your Stairs?
If you’ve ever walked up a set of stairs and felt the tread wobble underfoot, this could be the cause of an incorrectly designed or installed stringer and can cause a massive issue for the safety of your stairwell.
If there’s something wrong with the design or installation of your stringer, it can affect every other element. Like when you experience back pain, even if the source of this pain is from one direct part of your spine, it can create pain across your body from your feet, hips, neck and more. As your stringer works as a backbone to your stairs construction, you’ll see the same issues play out in these circumstances.
Steel stringers have some complexities to their design, with a certain level of mathematics required to make the correct angles and ensure a functional and safe procedure. Like all building and home features, there are a set of guidelines and standards that have to be met to reach the health and safety level standard in New Zealand. Meeting these standards and using high-quality stringer construction will ensure the lengthened safety of your stringer and stairs.
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If you have any questions about our range of steel stair stringers or need more information about the safety standards of your staircase contact one of our experts or view the range of staircase styles available on our website.