Plan Drawings (Interpretation & Staircases)

[SidM]

I have huge problems interpreting whether a staircase is going up or down on a plan drawing and whether there is a landing or handrail.  Does anybody have basic information on this that I can use to help me?  Also, does anybody have a tabulated form of the different rules that apply in relation to protecting staircases according to how many many you have and how many floors you have in a building.

[AnthonyB]

Fire certificate plans usually were clear enough to show a landing or half landing, but this did vary. All I've seen use an arrow on the staircase drawing to indicate the upward direction and when sketching I follow the same convention. Handrails were not normally indicated on standard width stairs, but a symbol was available to indicate handrails that split large width stairways.

Other types of plans are variable in detail & I agree there are some where it is impossible to tell direction, landings, etc & other than ringing up someone on site or going there.

Various tables on travel distances, etc. exist in the various codes and guides, but I don't know of any pocket guide type tabular summaries - you can put your own together, but of course you need the time to do it.

[afterburner]

there is (or was) a convention that all staircases should be marked with an arrow and all arrows point up. Arrows which were leaving a floor to go up had a black blob on their tail, whilst those arriving on the floor were just arrows. The landings should be clearly marked too.

However, the problem is whether the plan uses the arrow convention

[wee brian]

Yeah - always best to check before assuming the arrow points up. Not everybody uses the same convention.

[Tom Sutton]

They used to indicate the arrows with up and dn to show the direction but it has problems so the up arrow convention was introduced.

[afterburner]

the problem with up & dn is if you looked at the drawing upside down the dn looks like up  ....... I thinks that was the up and down of the matter

[Tom Sutton]

the problem with up & dn is if you looked at the drawing upside down the dn looks like up  ....... I thinks that was the up and down of the matter

Absolutely!!!!!!!!

[Tom Sutton]

http://www.fire.org.uk/punbb/upload/viewtopic.php?id=2732 I look like you did a double posting

Double posting, double the help but still none the wiser

I have huge problems interpreting whether a staircase is going up or down on a plan drawing and whether there is a landing or handrail.

If normal drawing conventions are used, then as stated above, an arrow drawn on the centre line of the stairs will indicate upwards. Usually half the landing is shown with a break; however the handrails are more difficult to locate on a plan you may have to study the elevations or sectional drawings to be certain.

[Clevelandfire]

you have to look on ground floor and then judge if and upward arrrow means the stairs are going up or down. So for instance if you look at ground floor where stairs begin and the arrow is pointing down toward start of the stairs you know the arrow refers to all staircases going down.

[Tom Sutton]

If the architectural drawing convention is used then it could also mean its up from the basement not indicating down from the first floor, that’s why it’s considered better to use the up arrow convention. If it is a fire safety drawing in accordance with the current BS then there is a symbol that’s supports this view.

Regarding the handrail again, if it’s a FS drawing, there is a current symbol shown in the BS. (GRL) The only thing I would disagree with in the BS is the break is shown on the stairs not on the landing. When it’s on the landing and all the drawings are put together you can visualise the whole of the staircase.

Check out 7.1 Building Elements. http://www.firesafe.org.uk/html/miscellaneous/fssymbol1.htm

[Tom Sutton]

SidM In the Architects Pocket Book by Charlotte baden Powell ISBN 978-0-7506-8617-4 there is a section on drawing conventions and if you go to http://www.firesafe.org.uk/html/miscellaneous/archcon.htm this will give you the item on Steps, Ramps and Slopes.