Accessibility
Staircase design without barriers for people with disabilities.
Key staircase terms explained simply.
Note: Content currently available in German.
The glossary is sorted alphabetically. To help you get started, we have grouped the most important entries by topic here.
Construction types and their characteristics
Wood species, lamination, and surface options
Going, rise, and tread components
DIN, fall protection, and accessibility
Lighting, surface treatments, special forms
Preparation, measurement, and build phases
For in-depth overviews visit our main pages Stairs and Stair Treads.
Staircase design without barriers for people with disabilities.
Staircases meeting standards for people with disabilities.
Staircase with alternately halved treads for minimal space.
Hardest native wood — extremely durable and elastic.
Vertical infill element between the handrail and the lower rail of a railing.
Row of small columns as a classic, decorative railing form.
Representative stair form of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Points where stair loads are transferred into the building structure.
Hard timber with uniform grain and warm colour tone.
Decorative edge trim on a staircase.
Decorative stringer without primary load-bearing function.
Solid step made from a single piece of material.
Apparently floating staircase with bolted treads.
Lower railing post — also called the starting post — at the foot of the staircase; anchors the handrail at tread 1.
Standardised test method for determining wood hardness.
Mechanical surface texturing of wood for a rustic feel.
Official approval for construction products and methods.
Categorisation of buildings by height and area.
Legal regulations governing staircase construction.
Railing infill of horizontal bars or cables.
Integrated chain from digital stair design to CNC production.
Staircase with treads projecting freely from the wall.
Opening in the floor slab for the staircase passage.
Staircase with a single central load-bearing beam.
Elegant timber with a warm, reddish-brown tone.
Umbrella term for child-protective measures — gates, riser protection, railing spacing, safety strips.
Structural stair clad with finished treads of timber, stone or tiles.
Free passage height above a staircase.
Vertical gap between a tread surface and the underside of the step above.
Space to be kept clear above and beside the stair flight.
Staircase with risers between all treads.
Computer-controlled manufacturing of stair components on processing centres.
Historical comfort formula for stairs: going minus rise equals 12 cm.
Digital stair design using specialised CAD software.
Staircase made of reinforced concrete — precast or cast in situ.
Protective covering for staircases during the building phase.
Weathering steel with a characteristic rust patina.
Abrasion-resistant laminate for stair surfaces.
Staircase with a gently sweeping flight.
Curved staircase with a central opening instead of a solid spindle.
Staircase individually manufactured to the exact dimensions of the installation site.
Maximum and minimum dimensions for stairs per DIN 18065.
German standard for accessible construction.
The principal German standard for building stairs.
German standard for carpentry and timber construction, including staircases.
Standard for hardwood lumber used in stair construction.
European standard for bespoke handcrafted wooden staircases.
Double bolts for load transfer without wall fixing.
Continuous flight with two 90° changes of direction — standard U- or Z-shape.
Classification of the natural resistance of wood to decay.
European standard for fire-protection classification of building materials.
Climbing stairs requires significantly more energy than walking on level ground.
Staircase forming part of the escape route in an emergency.
Europe-wide approval for non-standardised construction products.
Vertical drop distance at open stair sides and landings.
Collective term for all protective devices against falls on stairs.
Minimum clearance between the handrail and adjacent building components.
Fire-resistance classes for staircase components.
Classification of stairs by fire-resistance duration.
Staircase with high fire-resistance duration (F90/F120).
Staircase with moderate fire-resistance duration (F30/F60).
Stringer staircase with slim, flat side stringers in timber or steel.
Fold-away ladder for flat-roof access.
Space required by a staircase in plan view.
Stair with treads and risers joined in a continuous Z-shape from one material.
Folded-plate staircase supported by a central beam beneath the steps.
Space required for unfolding loft ladders.
Corrosion protection for metal parts through a zinc coating.
Outdoor staircase for bridging differences in terrain.
Staircase with transparent safety-glass treads.
Stair tread made from glued timber laminations.
Extremely hard natural stone for interior and exterior stairs.
Drawing-based method to set tread goings on curved staircases — one of two established approaches.
Collective term for all types of fall protection on staircases.
Stringer staircase with step ends exposed on one side.
Straight flight with a 180-degree turn in the middle.
Staircase with a 180-degree turn in the flight.
Ergonomic grip element mounted on or beside the railing.
Combination of oil and wax for natural protection of timber staircases.
Staircase with a cable-like support structure on the open side.
Clear height above the stair flight.
Inner, harder part of the tree trunk — preferred for stair treads.
Curved staircase with an open stairwell opening.
Sustainable hardwood from the rubber tree — an increasingly popular stair timber.
Stringer staircase whose treads are housed into vertical grooves in the side stringers — most traditional variant.
High-pressure laminate — extremely durable surface material for stair treads.
Measures to reduce sound transmission when walking on stairs.
Landing between two stair flights.
Timber grading by number and size of knots.
Two straight flights joined at a right angle by an intermediate landing — compare to winder stairs without landing.
Surface sealing through a closed lacquer film.
Protective caps on the feet of loft ladders.
Multi-layer safety glass for stair treads and railings.
Horizontal platform interrupting the stair flight.
Multi-flight stair whose straight flights are connected by one or more landings.
Topmost step of a stair flight — marks the transition from stair to upper floor level. Its top surface is flush with the finished floor of the storey above.
Hardest native softwood with a reddish colour tone.
Staircase turning counter-clockwise when ascending.
Legal framework for the planning and construction of stairs.
Stair bridging small height differences between levels.
White pigmentation of wood pores for a pale vintage look.
Frame for loft ladders set into the ceiling.
Umbrella term for fold-away ladders giving access to attics — includes folding, sliding and retractable variants.
Horizontal bars in the lower area of a railing.
Light, fine-pored hardwood with uniform texture for modern staircases.
Transferring the workshop drawing onto the actual workpiece.
Calculation-based method to determine tread goings on curved staircases — formula-driven alternative to graphical flaring.
Depth at which treads are mortised into the stringer grooves.
Staircase with treads of natural stone.
Material-optimised cutting of multiple workpieces from a single panel.
Central load-bearing pipe of a spiral stair.
Overhang of a tread beyond the step below.
Stringer staircase with steps set into visible cutouts in the stringers.
The most popular and versatile timber in stair construction.
Natural surface treatment that penetrates deep into the wood.
Web-based planning tool for pre-configuring an individual staircase.
Open side of a staircase without wall connection.
Staircase without risers between the treads.
The stringer on the open side of a staircase.
Weather-resistant staircase designed for exterior use.
Renovation method by applying new treads over the existing surface.
Space-saving stair with alternately offset treads.
Handrail mounted on a solid parapet wall.
Fall protection mounted on a solid parapet.
Angle of the stair flight to the horizontal.
Hard-wearing surface treatment for metal parts.
Total depth of the staircase in plan view.
Stair flight with a 90-degree turn.
Lateral balustrade of a staircase providing fall protection and a walking aid.
Handrail mounted on the balustrade system of the staircase.
Prescribed minimum height of stair railings.
Infill element between handrail and stair construction.
Horizontal connecting element in the railing system.
Staircase whose railing performs a structural function.
Pre-fabricated, thin tread specifically for overlaying existing stairs.
Staircase prescribed by building regulations as an escape route.
Extendable telescoping ladder — one sub-variant of loft ladders, used when space is tight.
Staircase turning clockwise when ascending.
Vertical distance between two successive steps.
Right-angled triangle representing the rise-going ratio graphically.
Ratio of step height to step depth.
Vertical step element in closed staircases.
Turning angle of each individual step in spiral stairs.
Horizontal length of a stair flight in plan.
Stringer stair whose treads sit on top of the stringer.
Concertina-style loft ladder with scissor mechanisms between steps — extends and retracts vertically, ideal for attics where space for folding ladders is limited.
Non-required stair serving ancillary areas — no building-code escape-route function, lighter dimensional rules.
Staircase without visible substructure, appearing to float in space.
Single flight with exactly one 90° change of direction — standard L-shape.
Trigonometric formula for optimal rise-going ratios.
Precise measurement of building conditions for perfectly fitting staircases.
Stringer staircase with treads slid laterally into the stringers.
Slip safety of stair surfaces, classified per DIN 51130.
Oak timber darkened to deep brown through ammonia fumigation.
Complete staircase — stringers, treads and risers made entirely from solid timber.
Individual step board made from through-and-through solid timber, used on concrete or steel substructures.
Compact staircase with reduced dimensions.
Staircases with unconventional construction beyond standard forms.
Spirally curved staircase with a central load-bearing spindle.
Colouring wood while preserving the visible grain.
Corrosion-resistant steel for railings, handrails and connections.
Scaled technical drawing of a staircase prior to production.
Building-code term for the space containing the staircase.
Continuous section of a staircase between two levels.
Overarching term for the calculation rules for comfortable stairs.
Adequate illumination of staircases for accident prevention.
Protective profile on the front edge of stair treads.
Systematic process from site survey to production-ready drawings.
Visual and functional renewal of an existing staircase.
Permissible deviations for rise, going and tread surface.
Clear distance between handrails (or handrail and wall) — determines walking space. DIN 18065 requires at least 80 cm for required residential stairs.
Staircases in public, commercial or multi-family buildings — DIN 18065 strict minimum requirements apply.
Staircases inside residential buildings with up to two apartments — DIN 18065 relaxed requirements.
Connecting stairs within a single dwelling unit.
Enclosed building section housing the staircase.
Free air space in the centre of a stair installation.
First and lowest step of a stair flight.
Staircase with a steel support structure.
Particularly steep staircase with minimal footprint, often as a secondary stair.
Surface material applied to a stair tread.
Average stride length used as the basis of the rise-going ratio.
Rule of thumb for comfortable stairs: 2 × rise + going ≈ 63 cm.
Height difference between two storeys.
Staircase connecting two storeys.
Stair flight without direction change or landing.
Load-bearing beam beneath the treads.
Construction of the stringer ends with newel posts and fittings.
Stair type with one or two stringer beams as the support structure.
Umbrella term for stairs carried between two lateral stringers — includes housed, saddled and freestanding variants.
Connection solutions transferring stringer loads to ceilings and landings.
Tensioning screw fixing treads into the stringer mortises.
Lateral load-bearing components of a staircase.
Load calculation proving the load-bearing capacity of individual stair elements.
Connecting elements between treads in bolt staircases.
Staircase with treads hung from a structural handrail.
Modular, pre-fabricated staircase from a kit system.
Moving handrail for folding and scissor ladders.
Provisional staircase on construction sites.
Timber made durable through heat treatment.
Staircase composed of three straight flights with two intermediate landings.
Stringer with tooth-shaped cut-outs used on saddled staircases.
Upper railing post — also called the landing post — at the head of the staircase; connects handrail to landing.
The uppermost step of a stair flight — also known as the exit step — where the handrail meets the landing.
Horizontal, walkable part of a stair step.
Horizontal depth of a step, measured on the walking line.
Modern DIN 18065 base dimensions of the bounding rectangle of a tread (going × length).
Umbrella concept for adjusting tread goings on curved flights — see graphical and mathematical methods below.
Slip-resistant or decorative grooves routed into the tread surface.
The front edge of a tread in the direction of travel.
Protective cover for treads during the construction phase.
Horizontal walkable top of a step — the going plus the overlap above the riser below. Together they form the safely usable tread area required by DIN 18065.
Material thickness of a stair tread.
Obsolete term for tread dimensions; superseded by separate going and tread length per DIN 18065.
Staircase with two parallel flights offset by a 180° change of direction.
Two-flight staircase with an intermediate landing and 180° direction change — space-saving U-shape in plan.
Thermal transmittance coefficient of building components.
Clear width of a stair flight available for walking.
Imaginary line representing a user's typical path along a staircase.
Wall-mounted handrail without a freestanding railing — DIN 18040 requires 30 cm overhang and 50 mm finger clearance to the wall.
The stringer on the wall side of a staircase.
Elegant, dark hardwood for representative staircases.
Traditional surface treatment with a silky-matt sheen.
Staircase with direction change via wedge-shaped steps.
Wedge-shaped step in winding stair sections.
Wedge-shaped tread in winding stair sections.
Direction change in the stair flight through wedge-shaped steps.
Residual moisture in timber after technical drying.
Comparison of industrial prefabrication and on-site craftsmanship.
Curved element of a handrail or stringer to resolve changes of direction.
Three-dimensional rendering of a planned staircase for clients and production.