Add a spiral staircase

Updated by Heather Jones

Spiral staircases can be tricky. Before you begin, you will need three pieces of information:

  • The degree of rotation.
  • The total number of risers.
  • The riser height.
  1. Click Staircase , and select Custom.
  2. Add a staircase to the sketch workspace that is 6 feet 8 inches long.
  3. Select the top wall, and press Delete.
  4. Click the red diamonds on the top and bottom of the right wall, and drag the walls to 45 degree angles.

      

  5. Click the wall on the left, and drag it to resize the stairs to the correct width.

      

  6. Select the stair wall, and click Properties  to open the Staircase Wall Properties dialog box. In the General group, in the Arced Wall box, select Yes.
  7. Click the blue box on the the wall, and drag the wall to create an arc. The arc should be at least twice the width of the stairs (at least 10 feet).
  8. Select the stairs, click the red diamond on the top end of the stair wall, and drag it around to the correct degree of rotation. For most spiral staircases, this will be 45 degrees. 
  9. Select the stairs, and confirm the width. The top and bottom stairs should be the same width. If they are not, click the red diamond on the bottom right of the wall, and drag it to adjust.

  10. Click Line .
  11. Draw a reference line from the intersection of the angle, towards the top wall of the stairs. This line should be equal to the current width of the stairs.
  12. Select the stair wall, click the blue box at the top, and drag the wall down until the first dotted line meets the top of the reference line. This creates a consistent radius for the stairs.
  13. Select the reference line and press Delete.
  14. Select the stairs, and click Properties  to open the Staircase Properties dialog box.
  15. In the Staircase group, in the Angled Treads box, select Yes.
  16. Zoom in to the intersection of the angle.

      

  17. Click the red diamond in the center of the angled treads cross-hairs, and drag them down slightly, off the stairs.

      

  18. Press Shift and drag the crosshairs back to the intersection of the angle.
  19. Click Properties  to open the Staircase Properties dialog box.
  20. In the Staircase group, in the No. of risers box, enter the number of risers on the staircase.
  21. In the Staircase group, in the Riser Height box, enter the height of the risers.
  22. To remove the material beneath the risers, select Yes in the Open box.
  23. To remove the staircase wall, click the stair wall, click Properties  to open the Staircase Wall dialog box. In the Wall Type box, select Missing (end to end).
  24. Click 3D  to view the spiral staircase in 3D view.

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