# Fixing basement stairs



## Graham052 (Nov 7, 2012)

Just wanting to get some other opinions for stair rise/run. I am in the planning stages of lengthening my steep basement stairs and finishing two rooms in the basement.  Here is the situation, current rise/run of the staircase is 9.65"/8.22"... yes thats almost 1.5" more rise than run for each step.  I am removing one floor joist and a closet upstairs to gain the headroom.  With the added length my options are 12 steps with 8.04"/9.27" or 13 steps with 7.42"/8.5"  I want to get some opinions on what would yield the most comfortable staircase -- an approx 8" rise with a 9.25" run or a 7.5" rise and 8.5" run.   Also any thoughts on cutting the stair stringers at an angle to yield extra tread for each step?


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## nealtw (Nov 7, 2012)

Reading ther code is bad enough but mine is in metric.
Max rise should be 7 7/8 inches and the tread min should be the rise plus at least 1 inch.
You have a lot of numbers in your question but not the ones I would like to use so.
Total height from subfoor of landing to the basement floor and as basements are seldom level the height to where the stairs would land would be the best.
Distance from the landing to the floor joist that will be left in, which should be doubled up by the way.
The angle you asked about is determened by the rise and treads.
And welcome to the site.


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## Graham052 (Nov 7, 2012)

Yeah I know how the angle is determined... thats how I got the rise/run numbers listed.  I have 102" overall length and 96.5" of rise.  So with either 12 or 13 steps I get the numbers listed above (top landing being last step)  Any input on which is the better choice?


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## CallMeVilla (Nov 7, 2012)

For comfort, go with the 13 step configuration  .... Then you can tell people who are superstituos to stay out of the basement.


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## Graham052 (Nov 7, 2012)

lol, my gilfriend said lets do 12 steps for that reason


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## nealtw (Nov 7, 2012)

I should have asked but I am assuming the stairs can be longer as long as you have 80"clearence below that floor joist.
I get 13 risers at 7.42", 12 treads at 9.5"


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## Graham052 (Nov 7, 2012)

Not sure I understand what you are asking, basement floor to the bottom of the joists measures 7ft (84")  102" length is from the start of the stairs (top) to the floor joist - actually I took off an extra 5" so my last step is not right at the joist.  102"/12 treads = 8.5"


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## nealtw (Nov 7, 2012)

Yup I didn't allow for the floor joist sticking down
8.5 may be to code they will be awfull to walk down. There is one other cheat that you could look at to gain a few inches, if there is a wall directly above that floor joist. We have raised that joist bottom to 3 1/2" below the floor. Yes thru the floor into the wall above add a 2x4 to side of it to hold up the floor. If that would work, you would have better numbers to play with maybe.


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## Graham052 (Nov 7, 2012)

cool idea but no wall to do that.  I am considering cutting each rise back at an angle to gain ~1" on each tread, it would give more space walking up the stairs but wouldnt help much walking down the stairs.


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## nealtw (Nov 7, 2012)

You can get the same effect by adding an inch to the treads but nothing helps to down and your angle cut will weaken the stringer.
I grew up in a house with 8 1/2" treads, never thought much about it until I visited the house years later, scary!
I guess it will be delux compared to what you had.


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## Graham052 (Nov 7, 2012)

Yeah anything will be an improvement over what I have now, maybe I'll try to find some stairs around town to walk...


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## nealtw (Nov 7, 2012)

Some times you just have to live with what you get, sorry I couldn't be more helpful.


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## BridgeMan (Nov 14, 2012)

I would make an effort to do whatever is necessary to increase the total run distance.  Building stairs that are unnaturally steep and not code-compliant, will not be good, and will certainly be a drawback when you (or your heirs) need to sell the place.

Have you considered a landing part-way down, and turning the stairs 90 degrees at the landing, to increase the total run?


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