Halls and Stairways 



141 



battered unless you watch the expressman. If this is true of the carefully calcu- 

 lated scheme, then the true story of the careless effort is not for juvenile litera- 

 ture. The importance of the easy staircase is not to be underestimated; this one 

 problem is the architect's usual stumbling block. A professional stair builder, 

 with much architectural knowledge, has been known to plan a flight of attic stairs 

 which were decent in every way but one when you reached the top you had to 

 crawl on hands and knees in order to get into the attic. This may be a trifling 

 inconvenience for some, but most of us would object seriously. 



All-important in the stair problem is the question of easy treads. Some few 

 wise people prefer to have their sleeping rooms for constant use on the first floor 

 and the excess on the second floor, knowing full well that they were never intended 

 to climb stairs. To these we remove our hats with a mixture of respect and awe 

 awe because of the strength of character that would do a sensible thing in 

 opposition to the general custom. Among the masses of country folks the first- 

 floor bedroom has long been used and appreciated. Returning to the tread 

 question: The usual rule for determining this is that the product of rise and 

 tread shall equal 70. Hence, if the tread be 10 inches, the rise should be 7 

 inches; if the tread be 12 inches, the rise should be 5f inches. For ordinary 

 stairs the lo-inch tread is as steep as should be made for comfort; if it be pos- 

 sible, the 12-inch tread should be used for front stairs. 



The common 

 material for the 

 stairs of our country 

 houses is wood. As 

 the Colonial and 

 Elizabethan seem to 

 be the prevailing 

 styles, this is well. 

 Hardwood treads, 

 hand rails and 

 newel posts are to be 

 preferred, even if, as 

 in the Colonial, the 

 newel be painted, 

 as are the risers, bal- 

 usters and stringer 

 board. 



It is always 

 well to have a sep- 

 arate staircase for 

 the use of the ser- 

 vants, thus avoiding 

 their use of the main 



staircase. In the small house, one way of condensing the stairway is to carry 

 the back stairs to the main stairway landing, making the half flight above common 

 to both. This should be done in such a manner that a person using the back 



Upper hallway of Fall River example, showing lighting agency 



