If you are building (or renovating) a two-story home, you will obviously need to communicate with your contractor about your stair design. Knowing common stair terms will be very helpful in your conversations with your contractor. This is exactly why I created this guide to staircase parts for you!

We’ll cover the most common terms you should know; I’ll illustrate these stair parts with a diagram AND photos of my own staircase.

GUIDE TO STAIRCASE PARTS: A DIAGRAM

DIAGRAM via A WOOD IDEA

COMMON PARTS OF A STAIRCASE

The most common staircase terms you’ll hear include the following: stair railing, riser, newel post, stair landing, baluster (or spindle), tread, stringer, and nose. You can see where each part is by referring to the diagram above, as well as the photos of my staircase below.

Where is the newel post and newel cap?

What do you call the step parts on a staircase? 

Where is the stair landing?

Where is the stringer on stairs?

In this post, we covered the most common staircase terms: stair railing, riser, newel post, stair landing, baluster (or spindle), tread, stringer, and nose. I hope the diagram and photos of my own staircase help you to understand where the various stair parts are. Now you should be able to easily communicate what stair design you want to your contractor or builder :).

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