Mezzanine access stairs. Sized to the platform load, integrated with the deck.
When you add a mezzanine, you add a stair — sometimes two. This is the stair work we do most often: interior steel stairs feeding a single platform, sized to the occupant load and integrated with the mezzanine deck rather than bolted on after.
The stair as part of the mezzanine, not bolted on after.
A mezzanine access stair shares structural elements with the deck it serves — the column line, the guard rail line, the deck framing. Designing them together means the stair lands cleanly into the deck instead of being scribed onto column flanges later. We do most mezzanine access stair work as part of the same package as the mezzanine itself; see the mezzanines pillar for the deck side.
Configuration choice
- Straight-run — single flight to a single-tier mezzanine, where the floor space at grade allows. Most common. See straight-run stairs.
- Switchback — for taller mezzanines or limited grade footprint. See switchback stairs.
- Ship's ladder — only for maintenance-only platforms not carrying general occupant load. See ship's ladders.
Egress and the second exit
Egress capacity is calculated from occupant load. For most warehouse pick-mezzanines and storage platforms, a single stair is sufficient — but past a threshold, the code requires a second means of egress. We run the math on every project at site measure and call out the second access (or a pallet drop, or a second stair) on the drawing before stamp.
Typical parameters
- Rise range9 ft – 14 ft (typical mezzanine height)
- Width900 mm – 1100 mm (occupant-load driven)
- Configurationstraight-run / switchback
- Treadgrip-strut / bar-grate / checker-plate
- Guard height42" (OBC §3.3.1.18)
- Live load4.8 kPa + 1.3 kN concentrated
- Finishshop primer (interior) / galvanized (exterior)
- Lead time3 – 5 weeks from sign-off (with mezzanine package)
- Mezzanines pillar — the deck side of the same project
- Straight-run stairs — most common mezzanine access geometry
- Switchback stairs — for tall mezzanines
- Egress staircases — the second exit, when occupant load triggers it