Stair Calculator
PremiumCalculate riser/tread counts and verify 2R+G building code compliance. · Explore the live interface below - every control works exactly as it does inside Revit®.
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Test it Live - exactly as if you are in Revit
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Four simple steps to bring Stair Calculator directly into your Revit® environment.
1
Create Account
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2
Download Installer
One installer, 52 professional Revit® tools. Under 15 MB.
3
Open Revit
Stair Calculator appears in your ribbon automatically - ready to use.
4
Activate License
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Why Stair Calculator exists
Stair geometry is arithmetic with a code on top. Floor-to-floor divided by a riser count that gives a legal riser, a tread that satisfies 2R+T, a pitch within limits, all fitting the run you actually have. You work it out on paper, get a number that almost works, adjust, and repeat - and then find out the stair already in the model does not comply.
How Stair Calculator works
Pick a building code profile and enter the floor-to-floor height, available run and stair width - or pick a level pair and let the height fill itself in.
Calculate, and the compliant riser and tread combinations are ranked by how good they are, showing riser, tread, the 2R+T check, pitch and a score. The table shows the best thirty - tighten the run or the height if you need to see further down the list.
A side-elevation diagram draws the selected combination, so the number is something you can look at rather than just read.
Any combination in the list has a Model button. Click it, pick the origin in the view, and the stair is built at those dimensions - a single straight run, or two opposite runs with a half-landing if you have allowed that and the run will not take one flight.
Audit Model checks the stairs already in the project against the same code and reports pass or fail per stair.
Before
Riser and tread combinations are worked out by hand and checked against a code table, one iteration at a time.
After
The best combinations for your constraints are listed and ranked at once, existing stairs are audited against the same rules, and the combination you settle on can be modelled straight into the project.
When to reach for it
- Early design, when floor-to-floor is settled and the stair core has to work.
- Checking that stairs inherited in a model actually comply before a submission.
- Testing whether a floor-to-floor change breaks the existing stair.
What it does not do
- It works to the code profiles built in. A local amendment your authority applies is not something it knows about - check the profile matches your jurisdiction.
- It calculates, audits, and - if you ask it to - places the stair. Fire, width and landing requirements beyond what the code profile checks are still your responsibility.
- The document has to be modifiable. Auditing a stair set in a file you opened read-only is not currently possible, because the read-only guard sits in front of the whole dialog.
- Placing a stair leaves two undo entries rather than one, because applying the stair type is a separate transaction from creating the runs.
- The audit reports on stairs in the open document, not linked models.
Questions
- How do I calculate riser and tread for a Revit stair?
- Normally by hand against a code table, iterating until the numbers work. This enumerates every combination that satisfies the code for your floor-to-floor and available run, ranks them, and draws the one you select.
- Can it check stairs already in my model?
- Yes - Audit Model runs the existing stairs against the chosen code profile and reports pass or fail for each.
- Which building codes are supported?
- Nine code profiles are included and selected at the top of the dialog. They are fixed rather than editable, so confirm the one you pick matches your jurisdiction, including any local amendments.
- Can it build the stair as well as calculate it?
- Yes. Pick a combination, click Model, and click a point for the origin - it creates the runs at those dimensions and applies the stair type you chose. With the half-landing option on it builds two opposite runs and lets Revit form the landing, and flags a headroom warning on the combination when the half-height clearance falls below the code minimum. Undo takes two steps, because the type change is a separate transaction from the stair creation.