Adding Path Stairs
Use Path Stairs to add stairs to slopes, patios, decks, and other areas of your landscape design. Path Stairs can be straight, curved, or even a combination of both. Their profile is adjustable, allowing you to use them for a variety of applications.
To add Path Stairs:
- From the Building tab, click Add Path Stairs.
- Draw the stair path by clicking the left mouse button to add points. This defines the left side of the stairs. Press Backspace to remove the last point added, or Esc cancel.
- To finish drawing the stairs, right-click to place the last point.
Once the stairs have been added, click Edit Points to edit the path. Points can then be moved, added, and deleted as needed for your design.
Note: If the stairs appear to cut into the terrain, then their elevation is probably too low. Path Stairs extend to the full length of their path. To resolve this, you can either increase the elevation or shorten the path itself.
The Path Stairs object was used to create the curved stairs shown below.
Adding Stairs on a Slope
To add Path Stairs to a slope, create the path starting at the top of the slope and ending at the bottom. Adjust the Elevation until the top step is in the desired position. Next, adjust the Rise and Run as needed until the stairs follow the slope.
Important: Check with your local building code to ensure the rise, run, and other design parameters are safe before building actual stairs based on your design.
To add stairs to multiple or uneven slopes, add a separate Path Stairs object for each part. You can then use other objects to create the landings, such as Decks or Patios.
Adjusting the Profile
The Trim to profile option allows you to vary the width of the stairs along its length. For example, you can create stairs that start narrow at the top and flare out at the bottom.
For maximum flexibility, the width is defined using a profile shape. This allows each side of the stairs to be adjusted separately. For example, to create stairs that are straight on one edge but curved on the other.
To create a trim profile:
- Click the Path Stairs you want to modify to select it.
- Set Width to the widest part of the stairs. For example, if you want the stairs to start narrow at the top and then widen toward the bottom, set Width to the bottom width.
- Check the Trim to profile option.
- Click Reset Profile to reset the profile to a default shape (if needed).
- Click Edit Profile to start editing the profile shape.
- Edit the profile shape so that the left and right sides cut off the parts of the stairs you want to trim.
- Click Edit Profile again to disable profile editing mode.
Note: When editing the profile, ensure the first and last treads remain at least partially inside the profile shape. Otherwise, the outline will turn red and the profile will be disabled. This happens because only the width the stairs can be trimmed, not the length.
The following shows examples of before and after trimming to a custom profile.
The following example shows each side of the profile can be shaped differently, making it easier to create a wide variety of custom stair designs.
Customizing the Plan View
Applies to: 
Plus Pro 
Architect
Path stairs can have a customized appearance in the Plan view. For example, they could maintain a realistic in the Perspective view, while using a solid color in the Plan view.
To do this, click the Material category and then enable Custom appearance in each view. Two tabs will appear: Plan and Perspective. You can then use these to customize how the stairs appear in each view.
Tips:
- When building a staircase that includes multiple Path Stairs, you can use Deck or Patio objects for the landings.
- Use the Railing object to add standalone railing.