Watch as we add stairs between floors, customizing their dimensions, colors, and materials. Then, visualize using 3D Photos or 2D and 3D Floor Plans. 

The following steps describe how to add stairs to your project in the RoomSketcher App:

• Stair Types in RoomSketcher
• Add Stairs
• Customize the Size and Direction
• Customize the Color and Materials
• View a Stair in Your Design
• Copy, Move and Delete Stairs

Stair Types in RoomSketcher

RoomSketcher contains a wide variety of stairs of various types:

• Compact, or ladder-type stairs.
• Double and Single Winder, which curve to change direction 1 or 2 times.
• Half-Landing and Quarter-Landing. U or L shaped stairs and have a small platform or landing.
• Spiral stairs, which wind around a central point.
• Straight, and
• Z Shaped, which change direction two times similar in shape to a Z.

Add Stairs

You'll find stairs in the Windows etc. category.

1. Click or tap the red Mode button and open Windows etc. mode.
2. Open the Stairs category. The Stairs library appears on the right.
   
   
   
   Tip: You can see a stair’s default size and the number of steps as you hover over it. For best rendering results, pick a stair close in size to your desired stair.
3. Click or tap to select a stair and click to place it on the floor plan.
   
   
   
   
   • The red dot indicates the highest point or top of the stair.
   • To rotate the stair, click and drag the blue curved arrow
   • To adjust the horizontal direction of the stair (for example, flip the stair so it curves to the left vs the right), click Flip Stairs.
     
     
     
     
4. Press and drag the stair to move it into its final place.
   Tip: Notice that the stair will snap to a wall for accurate placement. Click the CTRL key while you drag to stop snapping (or click Menu > Snapping to turn snapping off).

Customize the Size and Direction

Once you have placed a stair on a floor plan, you can customize it. To customize its size and vertical (up and down) direction:

1. With the stair selected, its Properties appear on the right.
   
   
   
   
2. Click Floor to Ceiling to automatically adjust the stair height to the height of your walls.
3. You can change the Width or Length of the stairs.
4. If your stairs are in an enclosed space, you can use Best Fit Width, or Best Fit Depth to automatically size the stair to the available space. In the image below, Best Fit Width will adjust the width of the stair to fit between the two walls.
   
   
   
   
5. If you need to, you can click Default Size to return the stair to its default size after you’ve explored size options. 
6. For Type, you can choose:
   • Above Floor (for a stair going up from the floor.
   • Below Floor (for a stair going down from the floor)
   • Up and Down if you are working on a middle floor of a building and you want a staircase going up, as well as a staircase going down.

Customize Color and Materials

If you have a Premium or one of our professional subscriptions, you can change the materials using Replace Materials. Before you do it, it’s important to understand the names of the various elements that make up a stair.

The railing structure is made up of these three parts:

• Baluster - the set of columns supporting the railing - in this image, it is light blue.
• Handrail – the railing. In this example, it is a light Oak color.
• Newel - a post at the head or foot of the stairs - here, it’s a dark wood color.

Other parts of a stair include:

• Risers - the vertical section between the treads of a staircase. In this example, the risers are white.
• Stringer - a structural support for the treads and risers. It is typically located on each side of the stairs and in this example, is a light wood color.
• Tread - the part that you step on. In this image, it is black.

To customize a stair

1. Click the stair which you placed into your floor plan (to select it) so that its Properties appear on the right.
   
   
   
   
2. Check or clear Show Left Railing or Show Right Railing to show the railing structure on either side, both sides or to remove all railings.
3. Under Replace Materials on the right, click any stair element.
   
   
   
   The Select Material page opens.
   
   
   
   
4. You can use the scroll bar to browse suggested materials, or in the Search, you can type a word, such as “Wood”, “Tile”, “Paint” or “Red”, to narrow your selection. You can also click the Paint Palette to type a hex color code or RGB code to specify a custom color.
   
   
   
   
5. Click a material to select it, and then click Apply to close the page.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for any other stair elements.

View a Stair in Your Design

To visualize your custom stair, click and drag the camera to point it at the stair, then double-click to take a snapshot.

Copy, Move or Delete a Stair

• Copy: Click a stair to select it, and then click Copy  in the top toolbar. Click  to paste it. You can also use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V or for Mac Cmd+C and Cmd+V.
• Move: You can press and drag a stair to move it.
• Delete: Click the trash bin in the top toolbar or the red X to delete a stair. You can also use the delete key on your keyboard.
  
  

Related Articles

Now that you’ve learned the basics on how to add and customize stairs, here are some in-depth examples of ways you may add stairs to a project.

• Stairs Between Two Floors or Levels
• Create a Loft or Raised Area with Stair Access
• Change the Floor Height