How to create steps or stairs that follow terrain

[kbgb89]

Hello

I have a steep land  and I want to create some steps or stairs on the land ..how can I do this ..is it with corridor ,grading ..?

[Neilw_05]

I haven't modeled a stair such this but I would approach it using an alignment and profile. That way you can layout a profile to fit using the stair rise/run ratio to determine where to put landings, etc. As for modeling the individual steps, I wouldn't bother with that. All the contractor needs is the length of the runs and the size, location and elevation of the landings.

If you need to make a 3D rendering then you probably find it easiest to use featurelines and/or gradings.

[doni49]

I don't know if you have access to Revit but here's what I did when I encounted this (we have a conc stairway in part of the parking lot that I redesigned a few months ago).

I knew the elevation at the top of the stairs and bottom of the stairs.  I used that info to create a stairway in Revit (using the height difference between the elevations to id the "floor elevations".  Then I exported the stairs that it created to a dwg file and put the dwg on my site plan.  I basically let Revit calculate what the stairs would look like.  I just maneuvered the stairway into the right horizontal location.

[doni49]

P.S. By doing this, I was also able to have Revit generate most of my stair section too.  🙂

I just thought you might like to see this.  Once I had a section of the stairs, my structural engineer marked up it and we "embelished" it for use as a section detail on our civil plans.  And I didn't have to calculat anything about stair runs, treads etc.

[kbgb89]

Thank you all for your quick answers but I don't think revit will do it ....I copy a site plan to show you what i want...I need to have a path connecting all  the buildings (white rectangles) on the surface terrain like steppedstones or concrete steps with daylight .it has to be conneceted to the land surface...the revit stairs will not work in that case...

[dgordon]

if you are placing several new building footprints on a site, then the existing ground is already being modified to slope in between the pads. It doesn't seem as though existing ground needs to be followed. It would seem that step landings and rise/run of steps is entirely up to the design surface. I also would not include each individual step into a model that was being provided to an excavator for grading. Landings and slope of stairs is all they need.

[doni49 · Accepted solution]

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@DGordon wrote:
if you are placing several new building footprints on a site, then the existing ground is already being modified to slope in between the pads. It doesn't seem as though existing ground needs to be followed. It would seem that step landings and rise/run of steps is entirely up to the design surface. I also would not include each individual step into a model that was being provided to an excavator for grading. Landings and slope of stairs is all they need.

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If the buildings are being constructed, then yes I agree with you for the most part.  But I'm guessing that the buildings already exist but nobody ever thought to design walkways between the buildings for some reason.  In addition, there could be a need to create a stair section in which case it would be nice if the stairs matched what will actually be constructed.

I don't know of any way to automate the stairs like you're wanting to do within C3D.  The closest thing I can think of is Revit.  I can find out the elevation at the 2 bldg locations and then in Revit, assign those elevations as the floor elevations and generate a stairway from one "floor" to the other.  I can even curve it if I need/want to.

The only reason I can think of for Revit to not work in this case is if the hill side is TOO STEEP or TOO FLAT for Revit to put the stairs.  But if that's the case, then the hillside IS:

1. too steep and you should probably consider adding one or more retaining walls to make it LESS steep.
2. too flat and instead of a true stairway, you need more of a stepped path (a riser ever 3-4 feet) or something like that). 

Either that or move the stairway so that it follows a surface that does work the way you want it.