Add stairs in Sketch AR

Updated by Heather Jones

In Sketch and Sketch AR, staircases act similar to rooms (for example, they cannot overlap other rooms, and they have their own room dimensions). You can begin the stair capture just as you would any other room (see General Sketch AR information for details on capturing a room); however, staircases cannot be the first room recorded of multiple rooms. You can either record a staircase as a Single Room or you can create the bottom landing/room first and then add the stairs at one of the openings.

Single Room capture

To capture stairs as a single room, initiate Sketch AR as explained in General Sketch AR information, and select Single Room when given the option.

Interior capture

To add at least one room in addition to the stairs, initiate Sketch AR as explained in General Sketch AR information, and select Interior when given the option.

Create the room that connects to the bottom of the flight, including the opening where it meets the stairs. Once you complete that, and the room is visible on the screen, instead of selecting Return To Sketch, select the + icon in the opening. This gives you the option to add an additional room, a staircase, or a closet. Select Staircase and complete the following steps:

Stair capture

  1. Capture a corner of the stairs where the riser meets the lower landing. 
  2. Capture the adjacent corner to mark the bottom of the stairs (and to record the full stair width). 
  3. Capture a corner of the stairs where the riser meets the upper landing. 
  4. Capture the adjacent corner to mark the top of the stairs (and to record the full stair width). 

Once you have captured both the bottom and top of the flight of stairs, Xactimate displays the stair framework with a likely number of treads.  

  1. Set the correct number or stairs by either of the following: 
  • If the number is correct, select the checkmark icon to accept the number of treads. 

Or 

  • If the number is incorrect, use the + and – icons to add the right number of treads and then select the checkmark. 

Landings

  1. Add the landings as you would a room. 
  2. When the landing is complete, if you need to add another flight of stairs, select the arrow icon that appears in the viewing window. Otherwise, select Done at the top of the screen if you have no changes.

Wall type 

You can modify the wall type for each wall around the stairs from within Sketch AR (you can still make changes in Sketch, if preferred). To do so, pan to the wall and select the edit icon (it appears under the wall type). Make the change in the screen that opens, and select Save.

  1. When you are done with the stairs, select Done. 

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