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Stair tool
Shortcut: T Toolbar: Vertical group
Place stairs connecting the active storey to the storey above. Uses guided smart placement — Jodu proposes layouts, you confirm. Choose Interior for room-based placement or Exterior to place a residential stair beside the shell.
Prerequisites
- Interior placement needs a wall-bounded room on the active storey.
- Exterior placement can start beside the shell and does not require a room containment polygon.
- For G+1 and above: an upper level must exist, or the guided flow must be able to create one using the project's structural slab setup.
Workflow (guided placement)
- Press T or click Stair in the toolbar.
- Click inside a room. The click selects the room (not an exact tread position) and Auto Fit searches every stair form for that footprint.
- Review the proposals — up to eight diverse candidates at first, and up to twenty-four through Show all. Cycle with ← / → or pick in the stair panel. Each candidate names its form and shows its footprint, entry arrow, and dimensions on the canvas.
- Drag the selected candidate to move it to a chosen position. The drag keeps the form, orientation, and dimensions; an invalid drop snaps back.
- While the ghost is visible, choose the entry end and the lower-flight side.
- A ready candidate places with Enter or the confirm button. A candidate with findings shows every warning first and needs an explicit Place anyway to proceed.
Exterior placement
- Choose Exterior in the stair panel.
- Choose the base: the active storey floor, finished or natural ground, or an explicit elevation when a site datum is unavailable.
- Choose the side and highlighted wall segment, then choose the starting end. Match the wall and end labels in the panel to their markers on the canvas; the arrow shows the direction of ascent.
- Continue to arrival selection. The upper level becomes prominent and the lower plan fades, while the selected start remains visible. Choose a labelled nearby destination door on the plan or in the panel. Platform edges appear only after choosing Pick a platform edge…. Use the explicit connection-point action if no existing target is suitable. Ordinary missed target clicks do not define a new point. Set passage width and platform depth separately from the stair width.
- Review the access footprint and any plot, door-swing, ground, or clearance findings before applying it. If no valid fit exists, the panel explains why Place remains disabled. A stair cannot extend beyond the saved plot boundary.
Exterior access is part of the stair assembly. A platform-edge connection can reuse an aligned host platform, so the same standing area is not added twice. Doors and platform targets are resolved again when their host geometry changes; deleting a referenced opening requires reconnecting or deleting the stair first.
No upper storey
If your project has only a ground floor, the guided flow may offer a new Terrace level. It needs the structural slab type required by the project. If that setup is missing, add an upper level manually from Storeys or resolve the structural finding first.
Stair forms
Auto Fit considers seven forms: straight, L-shaped, dog-legged, U-shaped, winder, double-landing U, and spiral. Preferred results rank front-arrival and turning forms first. You can also pick a form directly in the stair panel; changing it re-runs the guided placement.
Why nothing happened
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Click does nothing | No room at click point for an interior stair | Click inside a room, or switch to Exterior for a beside-shell placement |
| "No candidates found" | Space too small or irregular | Enlarge the room or try a different location |
| Stair overlaps walls | Room too small for stair form | Choose a compact form (straight run) or enlarge the room |
| Exterior proposal is blocked | Missing upper target, ground datum, plot escape, or clearance conflict | Choose a target, enter an explicit base elevation, or move the proposed stair |
| Only one candidate | Room shape constrains options | Try clicking in a different room or location |
Tips
- Guided placement is faster than manual drawing. Let Jodu propose layouts and pick the best one.
- Placed stairs stay editable: select a stair and choose Edit stairplacement to move the footprint, re-run Auto Fit, or change form, width, and tread depth.
- Deleting a stair shows a consequence preview (affects storey connectivity).
- Stair width defaults to 1.05 m, adjustable in the stair panel.
Related
- Room — room detection affects stair proposals
- Select — move or delete placed stairs
- Site workspace — manage storeys and levels