Movie Building Inspector #1

It's time for episode 1 of Movie Building Inspector, where today we are responding to reports of violations at a certain school for wizards and witches... I hear it's one of those liberal ones over in Europe.  Let's just take a look in the main hall and GAAAH!

Hogwart's Dining Room

Holy crap, Hogwart's is a fire hazard if I have ever seen one!

Sure, heavy timber construction is better than light frame, but lets back those 5,000 open flames away from the roof structure, unless you have an anti-litigation spell for all those angry parents of flattened children - class action suiticus dismissum! The more resistant the structure is to heat, the bigger the building can be! Also, should Hogwarts have a proper sprinkler system (which they do, although the fairies-with-tiny-buckets-of-water system is only approved for use in England), the structure could be enlarged and travel distances to exits lengthened. See the chart below for Construction Types.

Click to enlarge

Who isn't a fan of magic stairs that swing from corridor to corridor? Of course, this design would get an immediate stamp of rejection from the DOB...

Stairs to Gryffindor Hall

If you want to bring these up to code, here's a few design rules you should know:

• Handrails at the bottom of stairs shall extend 12" plus extend the slope for a horizontal distance the depth of one more tread. 
• Vertical distance between landings may not exceed 12'-0" with headroom clearance no less than 6'-8".
• Monumental Stairs are stairs 88" in width or wider and require intermediate handrail.
• Avoid single steps; where there are more than three steps, handrails must be provided.
• Handrails must be located 34"-38" above nose of stair or ramp.
• Width of an egress stair is based on occupancy: in most cases, 44" is the minimum but you can go to 36" in a residential occupancy.
• American Disabilities Act requires the below dimensions for handrail design:

You should always refer to your local building code for regulations regarding stair design, as they may have added a few requirements of their own.