Private staircase dimensions: rise, going and pitch
Written by Scott Jones, The Stair Guys, independent staircase measuring and sourcing specialists·Last updated
A private staircase, the everyday stair inside a home, is set out from three numbers: the rise (the height of each step), the going (how deep each step is front to back) and the pitch (how steep the whole thing is). Get these right and the stair walks comfortably and passes. Get them wrong and it is either uncomfortable, unsafe, or simply not allowed.
The numbers for England
- Going: at least 220mm. That is the usable depth of each step. Scotland is 225mm, and Wales is different again, which we come back to below because it is the one that catches people.
- Rise: 150mm to 220mm, and critically every rise on a flight must be equal. An odd step at the top or bottom is a trip hazard and fails.
- Pitch no steeper than 42 degrees. That is the maximum for a domestic stair, and it is a separate note in the table, so it binds at the same time as the rise and going rather than being derived from them.
- 2R + G between 550mm and 700mm is a comfort check, not a limit. Approved Document K calls it "the normal relationship" between rise and going, and it means it: the same table permits a 220mm rise with a 300mm going, which comes to 740mm, and a 150mm rise with a 220mm going, which comes to 520mm. Both sit outside the band and both are allowed. Use it to sanity-check comfort, not compliance.
The going and 42 degrees: a rule of thumb
There is a neat shortcut behind the 42 degree limit. 0.9 happens to be the tangent of 42 degrees, so if you take the rise and divide it by 0.9, you get the smallest going that still keeps the stair within 42 degrees. Round it up, never down, and you are safe on pitch.
Two things sit on top of that. First, there is a hard floor: in England the going cannot drop below 220mm however the sum works out, so you take whichever is larger, the rise divided by 0.9 or 220mm. For a 190mm rise, 190 divided by 0.9 is about 211mm, which is under 220, so it gets raised to 220. Second, that figure is the steepest you are allowed, not the target. A comfortable domestic stair is usually built around a 200mm rise and a 225mm going, opening the going out when there is room and only tightening back toward the limit when space forces it.
One warning on that rule of thumb: the 220mm floor in it is England's number. In Wales the floor is higher, so the shortcut gives you a stair that is legal in Shropshire and not in Powys.
Why the finished floor matters
The rise is set out finished-floor to finished-floor, so the floor coverings at both ends, the tile, screed or carpet, have to be allowed for before the steps are worked out. Forget them and every rise shifts, the equal-rise rule breaks, and the top or bottom step ends up the wrong height. It is one of the most common ways a stair that looked right on paper fails in the house.
These figures are for a private domestic stair in England. Utility and general access stairs use different numbers, and so do the other three nations. Note that utility and general access are England's categories: Wales sorts stairs into private, institutional and assembly, and other stair instead, so those labels do not travel either. For the full picture see the UK staircase building regulations guide.
Frequently asked
What are the maximum and minimum rise and going for a domestic staircase?+
For a private stair in England, each rise is 150mm to 220mm and the going is at least 220mm, and every rise on the flight must be equal. Scotland needs a 225mm going. Wales is different again: a rise of 155mm to 220mm with a going of 245mm to 260mm, or a rise of 165mm to 200mm with a going of 223mm to 300mm, so the Welsh minimum going is 245mm or 223mm, not 220mm.
Is the minimum going 220mm in Wales like it is in England?+
No. This is the single most common mistake made about Welsh stairs. Wales uses its own Approved Document K, the 1998 edition incorporating the 2000 and 2010 amendments, and its minimum going is 245mm (with a rise of 155mm to 220mm) or 223mm (with a rise of 165mm to 200mm). England's 220mm is not enough in Wales.
Does twice the rise plus the going have to be between 550mm and 700mm?+
No, that is a comfort check rather than a limit. Approved Document K calls it "the normal relationship" between rise and going. The proof is in the same table: it permits a 220mm rise with a 300mm going, which is 740mm, and a 150mm rise with a 220mm going, which is 520mm. Both fall outside the band and both are allowed.
What is the maximum pitch for a domestic staircase?+
42 degrees. A simple way to stay within it is to divide the rise by 0.9 (which is the tangent of 42 degrees) and round up to get the minimum going, then never go below the minimum going either, taking whichever of the two is larger. Note the minimum going in that rule is 220mm in England but 245mm or 223mm in Wales.
What rise and going should a comfortable staircase actually use?+
The regulation figures are limits, not targets. A comfortable domestic stair is usually built around a 200mm rise and a 225mm going, opening the going out where there is room and only tightening toward the steepest allowed when space forces it.
Why do stair steps have to be exactly equal?+
Because an unequal step, especially at the top or bottom, is a trip hazard, and the equal-rise rule is a requirement, not a preference. It also means the finished floor coverings at both ends must be allowed for when the rise is set out, or the steps end up uneven.
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