Headroom
The minimum vertical distance from the step edge to the ceiling or the flight above. The norm is at least 200 cm.
01 /Safe headroom norms
Headroom on a staircase (the critical clearance or passage height) is the minimum vertical distance from the top edge of a step to the ceiling, a floor beam, or the flight above. This parameter is directly responsible for keeping a person from hitting their head when climbing or descending.
- 📏 Minimum standard per GOST and SNiP: strictly no less than 200 cm (2000 mm).
- 📐 Critical limit: 180–190 cm. Allowed only in exceptional cases for auxiliary stairs (to a basement or attic).
02 /How to measure headroom correctly
The measurement is taken vertically up from the front edge of the step (the nosing) to the lowest point of the overhanging ceiling or beam. It is important to check this not on a single step but along the whole critical zone — usually the 3rd, 4th and 5th steps, where a person has already climbed but is still under the first-floor ceiling.