Creating a Curved Staircase in Home Designer


Reference Number: KB-00302
Last Modified: June 14, 2023

The information in this article appliesto:

Home Designer Professional or Home Designer Architectural or HomeDesigner Suite



QUESTION

How can I create a curved staircase in Home Designer?

Curved staircase leading to the next level


ANSWER

Curved staircases can be created in Home Designer using the Curve to Left and Curve to Right stair tools. In addition to these tools, stairs can be converted from straight to curved, and vice versa, using the Change Line/Arc edit tool.

Note: If you're wanting to place a spiral staircase in your plan, please see the Related Articles section below.


To use the curved stair tools

  1. From the menu, select Build> Stairs> Curve to Left  or Curve to Right  , then click once in a floor plan view to add a curved staircase.


  2. To move, resize, or rotate the staircase, use the Select Objects  tool to select the staircase, then use the edit handles that display to adjust the staircase to your liking.


To curve a straight staircase

  1. Select Build> Stairs> Draw Stairs  from the menu, then click and drag to draw a straight staircase.


  2. Using the Select Objects  tool, click on the staircase to select it.


  3. With the staircase selected, select the Change Line/Arc  edit tool to convert the straight staircase to a curved staircase. Selecting this tool again will convert it back to a straight staircase.

    Edit Toolbar with the Change Line/Arc tool being selected


    Note: In Home Designer Pro, you can also hold down the Alt/Option key on your keyboard while dragging the top/bottom edit handle on the staircase to curve it. Doing this activates the Alternate edit behavior temporarily, which can also be accessed by navigating to Edit> Edit Behaviors. Please see the Related Articles below to learn more about edit behaviors.


    Multiple stair segments can also be connected to each other. Try placing one stair segment and then creating another from the end point of the first. Once done, curve one of the segments, and notice that the additional, connected stair remains unchanged.

    Curved and straight stair segment connected


    In Home Designer Pro 2024 and newer versions, both a Radius Reference and a Radius value can be specified for curved stair segments using the Staircase Specification dialog.

    General panel of the Staircase Specification dialog


    Staircases can also be broken into multiple segments with the Add Break  edit tool. Segments are denoted by their segment number and have separate edit handles for each section.

    Multiple segments that are part of a single staircase


Flared and curved treads can also be generated for a staircase. To learn more, please see the Related Articles section below.