We have a home that was built in 1986 and the previous owners built very steep stairs off the back deck. The incline is 45 degrees - when it should be 40 degrees or less; the rise is 5 inches - when it should be 6 or 7 inches. There are other aspects that I will not go into, as it is not necessary.
My universal design is dedicated to my daughter and my husband's grandmother, who both would fall and seriously hurt themselves if they were to attempt to ascend or descend the stairs without supervision.
I think it would be nice for you to know who these very important people are.
Here is a Mini Description of Little Sarah and Grandma:
My daughter who is now 17 months is walking alot and is enjoying crawling up and down stairs. However these stairs are too steep for her to climb up and down.
In addition to my daughter having difficulty, my husband's grandmother, aged 82, just had back surgery and is learning how to walk again.
Grandma
Whether our family member is 17 months or 82 years of age, the back stairs is not at an appropriate incline. We have decided to rebuild the back stairs to suit both little Sarah and Grandma, but before I show you our own universal design, here are some scary photos of our stairs:
After a look at these photos you can see why little Sarah and Grandma don't feel safe going up or down the stairs!
For this specific challenge we have decided to build two safety railings: one for little Sarah and the second for Grandma - these are not shown in the diagram below. We have changed the design of the stairs so there are steps traveling down at tan(7.5 /11) degree incline into a platform and then there are stairs coming adjacent to the platform into the backyard. We will have a 7.5 inch rise, 11 inch run and the steps being 3 feet wide.
In the end, our new stairs will be designed for people with diverse ages: Grandma with her cane and slow paced stepping, as well as little Sarah with her difficulty with balance and agility. The design allows for individuals to have the safety of proper handrails, a platform and ease for incline. The design shows that the conversion of stairs with no platform to platform is easy, not complicated, to understand. In addition, the stairs assists people of many different ages and sensory abilities. This layout allows for minimization of injuries and accidents, as well as we have allocated the greatest stepping comfort for individuals and therefore low physical effort is needs. With the platform there is the ability for an individual to rest if needed; the size and space are appropriate for individuals to comfortably move up and down the stairs.
After all is done . . . I don't see any "downfalls" to my universal design! Thanks for reading about my design challenge.
