Vastu Staircase Checker

This checker takes where a staircase is, which way it turns going up and how many steps it has, and sets each against what our staircase page found. The plain answer comes first: none of the three popular rules, the south or west position, the clockwise turn and the odd number of steps, appears in the classical texts read for this site. They are modern conventions, and a staircase is better judged first on safety and light, which the checker also asks about.

How it works

You choose the zone of the home the stairs are in, the way they turn, and answer a few short questions. Two numbers are optional: the number of steps you climb from one floor to the next, and the height from floor to floor in centimetres.

The zone is rated from the same table as the room placement guide, so the two tools agree. Modern guides prefer the south, the west and the south-west, accept the north-west and the south-east, and advise against the north-east and the centre. The north and the east are on neither list.

The turn is set against the popular preference for a stair that turns clockwise going up, which is to your right as you climb. The count is set against the popular wish for an odd number. What lies under the stairs is set against the modern advice: no toilet or store, no shoes and no puja shelf there. Our staircase page also calls a small store for cleaning items practical, so that answer lines up while other storage differs.

If you give the height and the count, the checker divides one by the other to find the rise of each step, rounded to a tenth of a centimetre, and compares it with the comfortable rise our staircase page gives, about 15 to 18 cm. With the height alone it lists every whole number of steps that keeps the rise in that range and marks the odd ones, so you can see whether the custom and a comfortable stair can both be met.

Reading the result

The result lists every point under its own heading, practical first, and gives a count for each kind. The count is a tally and not a grade. Safety points are shown first because they matter most.

The step table is arithmetic you can check by hand. For a height of 300 cm, 17 steps give a rise of 17.6 cm and 19 steps give 15.8 cm, both odd and both within the range, while 16 steps give 18.8 cm, which is steeper than it. If none of the counts in range is odd, the result says so and puts the rise first.

Where traditions differ

The clockwise turn has a pleasant story behind it. The Brihat Samhita directs the builder to lay the first foundation stone in the north-east and the rest in order from left to right (53.112). That is a ritual order for the foundation and not a rule for stairs, but it explains why the idea feels traditional.

The centre is the one place where an older text sits behind the modern rule. The Brihat Samhita asks for care of the portion of the house which is the seat of Brahma (53.66), and Acharya’s summary of the Manasara calls the central square unfit for a residential building. Neither mentions stairs. The checker shows that verse as a note when you choose the centre and does not count it as classical.

Some guides add a counting game of three words said in turn on the way up. Our staircase page records it as a modern practice with no verse behind it, and the checker does not use it.

What it does not do

It is not a building inspection. Your local building rules and your architect have the last word on the rise, the tread and the handrail of a new stair. It makes no prediction of any kind.

It never asks you to move a staircase. In a block of flats the stairs belong to the building, and moving a staircase is among the most expensive changes to a house. Keep the stairs clear, lit and clean, place a plant or a lamp at the foot if you like, and read remedies without demolition before spending anything.

Frequently asked questions