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What is the correct gap between Stair Spindles?

Posted on Mon December 10th 2018 by James Speke

A staircase is one of the predominant features in any home, but one of the most difficult to get completely right. As well as needing to be aesthetically pleasing, staircases also need to be safe enough for everyday use, by everyone from children to older people.

One of the most important aspects of a staircase, is getting the spindle spacings just right. If the spindles are spaced out too far, then the stair rail will be weakened, and the staircase may pose a danger to children who can fit in between the gaps. If the spindles are too close together, very little light will pass through onto the staircase, and the design of the staircase will suffer.

As a rule of thumb here at UK Stairparts, we simply count the number of steps (aka treads) on your flight of stairs. Once you have this number, multiply it by two to ensure that there are two spindles per step. Once you have this figure, subtract two to take into account the newel posts at the top and bottom of the staircase.

For landing spaces, try & stick with an 80mm gap between spindles – so you will need to measure the landing space then work out the rest, whilst considering the width of your spindles too.