Why Do You Need an IBC Spiral Staircase?
Paragon provides spiral staircases for a broad number of needs both residential and commercial. In most cases, our buyers have greater freedom of choice in terms of designing their spiral staircase, however there are times when building regulations determine several aspects of the staircase from overall spiral staircase dimensions to additional safety features.
Most often, you need an IBC staircase if your project is commercial or in some other public use location. There are other times too. On these occasions, Paragon still offers a great selection of staircases in several materials and styles up to any code requirements, be they IBC spiral staircase code requirements or OSHA spiral staircase code requirements.
Advantages of Size and Safety with Code
Besides the times that require an IBC compliant spiral staircase, there are also times when you may just want some of the advantages of an IBC stair, whether your project’s situation requires it or not. One immediate advantage is that a code compliant spiral staircase must have a diameter of at least 5’, which gives you a much broader and more comfortable walking path than a non-code 3’6” diameter spiral.
A broader walking path also means more room for carrying items up and down your spiral staircase, and in the case of any home work shop, hobby shop, or other work related use, that ability comes in really handy.
Along the same lines as walking path, an important issue when it comes to room for traversing the staircase is headroom. Headroom, depending on the type of staircase, must be at least either 6′ 6″ or 6′ 8″. This room lets you avoid what you might call head-knockers (e.g. a basement staircase with a low-hanging beam overhead). To make picturing this space and its dimensions simple, imagine drawing a straight, sloped lined that intersects over the tip of each tread nosing at the angle of the staircase. The vertical line starting from this point and leading to the next object (perhaps another flight of steps) would be the available headroom.
One more aspect of an IBC code compliant spiral staircase is that it comes equipped with enough center balusters to ensure that the gaps between balusters is 4” or less. That is definitely a safer feature to have if your staircase will likely see use from young children or the elderly.
More than the greater comfort and safety, a larger staircase can also make a much more powerful statement in any commercial space with high visibility. Patrons walking into your office building’s lobby for the first time will be much more impressed by a grand 8’ diameter stair than they will by anything below the IBC minimum of 5’.
Settings for an IBC Staircase
If you want a staircase for a residential application, then check with your local building authority or municipality to see if you have to meet code. Odds are that you don’t have to. If your project is for any commercial application then you will. So just bear that in mind as you select dimensions and features for your spiral staircase purchase.
A non-commercial application that may not necessarily require a code spiral staircase but still fall under a category of when you could benefit from one is if you put your house on the market. When you sell a house, it can hamper your ability to find interested buyers if your current stairs do not meet code. Even if you don’t necessarily have to meet code in this case, you can only help your chances of selling your house and bumping up the value by installing a code stair.
A spiral IBC staircase has additional advantages when meeting code is a priority because it is both easy to install and economical for purchasing in bulk. So if you’re a landlord with several units that all have to meet code and you have to meet a tight deadline for finishing your newest building to fill with tenants that are already contracted, installing multiple identical IBC compliant spiral staircases is an excellent solution. Even if you only need to install one stair before selling or flipping a home, a spiral stair is the simplest way to accomplish this. Especially if an inspector will come relatively soon and you’re in a pinch for fixing a non-code compliant issue prior to inspection.
IBC vs OSHA Staircases
Keep in mind that if your project is for a warehouse, factory, or other work space, then IBC standards are not what you need to concern yourself with. Situations such as this are more the realm of OSHA standards.
So if you get an IBC compliant spiral staircase that does not necessarily mean you have an OSHA compliant staircase. However, Paragon is more than capable of creating an OSHA compliant staircase to whatever specs your employee environment demands.
If you want a yellow powder coat for visibility needs, and extra handrail, or any other specific features, Paragon’s in-house engineering department is more than up to the task of customizing a staircase for your work environment. Contact us to see what features we can offer in the way of IBC and OSHA code compliance for your project.
