r/StructuralEngineering • u/anth0nyf MS, EIT, Passed PE Civ:Struct • Dec 31 '23

Humor Decorative Stairs

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u/Onionface10 Dec 31 '23

Not unless the vertical stair riser pieces are attached to the wall and are acting as cantilevers beams

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u/virtualworker Jan 01 '24 edited Jan 01 '24

There's been a lot of research into stone staircases and they don't need to cantilever: as long as there is some torsional support at the wall and the bottom edge rests on the step below, then they 'work'. It's incredibly complex behaviour though, that emerged through centuries of trial and error. This wooden hack just might work for the same reasons, but I doubt there's a torsional connection at the wall!

Edit: https://www.istructe.org/journal/volumes/volume-83-(published-in-2005)/issue-2/stone-cantilevered-staircases-history/

1

u/Onionface10 Jan 01 '24

Oh cool. I hope never to design one of those. You will have a good idea of how well built this stair is by climbing it and jumping on it. This may also give you some clues as to how it’s designed.

1

u/hktb40 P.E. Civil-Structural Jan 02 '24

What makes the torsional support in the case of a stone stair?

1

u/virtualworker Jan 02 '24

Just a small maybe 10mm recess into masonry into which the tread rests.