Stair dimensions checker

Plan a stair from the height between floors, or check one you already have, against the National Building Code of the Philippines. Each result names the section its figure comes from.

Plan a stair

Floor-to-floor height, in metres optional From the finished floor below to the finished floor above.

Check a stair

Rise per step, in mm optional

Run per step, in mm optional The tread depth, nosing to nosing.

Clear width, in mm optional The width the stair keeps clear. Trim and handrails may take no more than 100 mm of what the code requires.

Headroom, in metres optional Straight up from the nosings to the lowest point above.

Handrail height, in mm optional Measured above the nosing of a tread.

Sides open to a drop

Result

Enter a floor-to-floor height to plan a stair, or any measurement of one to check it. The result updates as you type.

The figures, and where each one comes from

Read from the text of the decree as the Official Gazette publishes it, with the section and its condition beside each figure.

Rule	Figure	Source and condition
Rise of each step	200 mm at most	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(2): "shall not exceed 200 millimeters". Section 708(h) gives a dwelling "a rise of 200 millimeters"
Run of each step, as Section 708(h) says for dwellings	200 mm at least	PD 1096 Section 708(h), Minimum Requirements for Group A Dwellings
Run of each step, as Section 1207(e)(2) says for every stairway	250 mm at least	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(2), for every stairway serving any building; a private stairway serving fewer than 10 people also keeps 250 mm
Largest difference between risers, or between treads, in one flight	5 mm	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(2)
Clear width of a house stair	750 mm at least	PD 1096 Section 708(h), and Section 1207(e)(1) for a private stairway serving fewer than 10 people
Width lost to trim and handrails	100 mm at most	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(1)
Headroom above the nosings	2.00 m at least	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(12), measured vertically from a line through the tread nosings to the soffit above
Height between landings	3.60 m at most	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(7)
Landing depth	the stair width	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(5): need not exceed 1.20 m on a straight run
Handrail height above the nosings	800 to 900 mm	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(8)
Handrails on a house stair	one	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(8): one is enough for a stair serving one dwelling unit, but every open side needs one; fewer than four risers need none
Winders in a house	150 mm at least	PD 1096 Section 1207(e)(3): the required run within 300 mm of the narrow side, and never less than 150 mm at any point

Two rules for the run

The decree answers the question of how deep a step must be twice, and the answers differ. The rule for houses says:

“Stairs shall be at least 750 millimeters in clear width, with a rise of 200 millimeters and a minimum run of 200 millimeters.”

Section 708(h), PD 1096

The rule for every stairway in any building says:

“The rise of every step in a stairway shall not exceed 200 millimeters and the run shall not less than 250 millimeters. The maximum variations in the height of risers and the width of treads in any one flight shall be 5 millimeters: Except, in case of private stairways serving an occupant load of less than 10, the rise may be 200 millimeters and the run may be 250 millimeters, except as provided in sub-paragraph (3) below.”

Section 1207(e)(2), PD 1096

A run of 250 mm or more satisfies both. Between 200 and 250 mm, a stair meets the dwelling rule and falls short of the stairway rule, and the checker says exactly that rather than choosing. If a plan depends on the shorter run, ask the building official which reading the office applies before the stair is built, because a stair is hard to change afterwards.

Source: Presidential Decree No. 1096, the National Building Code of the Philippines, Sections 708(h) and 1207(e), as published by the Official Gazette.

What the checker does not cover

Every riser in the flight. The checker takes one rise and one run. The decree also limits the difference between risers, or between treads, in one flight to 5 mm, which only a measurement of each step can show.
Buildings other than a house. Wider stairs, enclosures and more handrails apply as the number of occupants grows. This is set for a single dwelling.
Adding a storey. Where a new stair lands and what it takes from the floor below is planned in renovation and expansion planning.
Structure and finishes. How the stair is built and what it is made of are for the engineer and the drawings.
Reading the stair on a plan. The UP arrow, the break line and counting the treads are drawn in the guide to stairs on a floor plan.
The rest of the house. The room size checker and the lot coverage calculator test the rooms and the lot, and the house extension guide covers adding a storey.

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