Is a landing required outside the door on a screened porch?

[Walt]

I am building a screen porch. It is approx 10-11' above grade and will have stairs down to grade. Is a landing required by the IRC outside the screen door? It will swing into the porch.

Thanks, Walt

[Glenn]

I would prefer at least a 3" landing but no code that I know of requires a landing ahead of your basement stairs so code wise, I'll have to pass.

[John Reddy]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you mean a 3 foot landing and not a 3 inch landing.

[Willshak]

I don't know about the code, but for safety reasons, I would put one there. How would someone, especially a child, open the door while standing on the steps without moving out of the way of the swinging door?

[Glenn]

That's a good strong limb. :)

[HerHusband]

I think we use UBC code here, but we were supposed to have a 3 foot landing outside our back door, even though it swung "in" to the house. I guess the idea is you have a place to stand while you open the door?

However, our stairway had to fit between our house and detached garage. It couldn't go sideways because of vents, drains, faucets, etc., and it needed to line up with the garage door directly ahead. Because of the limited space, the inspector let us get by with a 20" landing at the top, but said it wouldn't normally meet code. In actual daily use, we haven't noticed any problems, or awkwardness using those stairs. They're very comfortable to use and navigate, even with an armload of groceries.

I'd say it depends on your situation and local inspectors. If you have doubts, call the building department and ask what they require.

Anthony

[djenkins6]

When I was 11 I stepped out of a door in the dark and went flying down steps breaking my front tooth. A landing could save a life.

David