How to Design an Open Spiral Staircase With a Fountain Below

Consult your city or town’s planning department to discuss codes and building permits. Whether the staircase and fountain are inside or outside, you have to ensure your plans are built to a minimum standard to accommodate weight and have a chance of holding up during an earthquake or whatever type catastrophe can hit your area.

The building may also have historical status, which can affect how much work you can do and how you design the stairs and fountain. Ask code enforcement employees what is required and how to present your plans for approval once you have drawn them up.

Sketch out a rough idea of what you prefer to see. This is the time when you can go for it. Though you will have to take safety and building codes into consideration, get all your wild ideas onto paper. If they remain in your head, you might miss something.

Sort through the ideas to eliminate those that are against code or are physically impossible. Note where the stairs end and how close the fountain is to the stairs. Settle on one final design. Note that this could take a few days.

Locate any load-bearing walls, pipes and electrical wiring in the existing walls and floor. Knowing where these are lets you avoid a last-minute change of plans when installing water pipes and drains for the fountain.

Research banisters for the stairs that will help block water splashing from the fountain onto the steps and could cause falls. If the fountain is right next to the stairs, you don’t want children hanging off the banisters and dropping into the water. The water can also make the stairs slippery, so you want a barrier to stop water droplets from breaching the inside of the staircase.