Dog-leg
Encyclopedia
Dog-leg is a term used to describe a configuration of stairs
between two floors
of a building, often a domestic building, in which a flight of stairs ascends to a half-landing before turning 180 degrees and continuing upwards. The flights do not have to be equal, and frequently are not.
Structurally the flights of a dog-leg stair are usually supported by the half-landing, which spans the adjoining flank wall
s.
From the design point of view the main advantages of a dog-leg stair are:
Stairs
-People:* Scott Kannberg , guitarist of Pavement* A. Edison Stairs , New Brunswick politician* Denis Stairs , engineer, Montreal businessman* Ernest W. Stairs , New Brunswick politician...
between two floors
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
of a building, often a domestic building, in which a flight of stairs ascends to a half-landing before turning 180 degrees and continuing upwards. The flights do not have to be equal, and frequently are not.
Structurally the flights of a dog-leg stair are usually supported by the half-landing, which spans the adjoining flank wall
Wall
A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...
s.
From the design point of view the main advantages of a dog-leg stair are:
- To allow an arrangement that occupies a shorter, though wider, floor area than a straight flight, and so is more compact. Even though the landings consume total floor space, there is no large single dimension
- The upper floor is not directly visible from the bottom of the stairs, thereby providing more privacy
- An object or person falling from the upper half of the stairs is likely to stop at the landing; this is safer than letting it fall all the way to the bottom.