Ground floor stairs

1. Insert a new stair

Switch to the layer where the Ground floor bitmap is located. View of a VisualARQ model with a stair
  1. Run the _vaStair command or click on the Stair icon in the VisualARQ Objects toolbar.
  2. Select the Stair style you wish to insert and the basic insert options: alignment (select “right”), height (3m), width, step count (17) and tread dimension (0,3m). Use the Rule icon  along with the Width or the Tread fields to give the stair the proper values according to the bitmap. These values can be edited afterwards.
  3. Specify the stair start insert point in the model, according to the bitmap image.
  4. Specify a new insert point every time the stair turns. A new stair flight is created for every insert point. Right click to finish the command. The stair is now created. It does not matter if it is not exactly like expected. You can adjust the stair shape and properties afterwards.

Note

There is also the option to create spiral stairs, if needed, under the stair toolbar, or from the command line, after running the _vaStair command.

Edit the stair flights and landings

The parameters of the stair object can be edited from the Stair properties in the Rhino properties panel or from the VisualARQ Object properties dialog box . The options to edit the stair flights and landings can only be edited from this dialog.
  1. Open the Stair Properties dialog: double click on the stair object or select the stair and run the _vaProperties command.
  2. Edit the stair flights: click on the arrow next to the stair object’s name to view the list of stair flights. Select the second flight and set the interior and exterior boundary (Boundary tab) to “curved”. Do the same with the fourth stair flight.
  3. Add steps to landings: select the second flight, and from the Type tab, add 3 steps. Do the same with the fourth stair flight.
  4. Click ENTER button to accept changes and exit the dialog.

2. Create and edit new stair styles

Open the Stair styles dialog box _vaStairStyles to edit one of the existing stair styles or create new ones. These are the options available for defining the stair features:
  • Type: balanced or not.
  • Steps: step tread and riser dimensions. Disable both for the selected style.
  • Rules: enable this option to check in its properties dialog if a stair object meets this slope rule.
New stair style: select the New… button and then Stair style to open the wizard that will guide you through creating a new regular stair style. Stair Slab: When you create a new stair style, a slab is automatically created. You can change the stair slab thickness in the Geometry tab after selecting the slab component, (set it to 0,15m). For more information about how to delete or add a slab to a stair style take a look at this post.
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