STAIR PLAN GRAPHICS: Hide Bottom Tread when set to 'Start with Tread'?

[Jeff Galbraith]

We are 2 years into our transition to Archicad and still grappling with how best to use the stair and railing tools. We are running into a plan graphic issue when associating handrails to stairs. The associativity provides the benefit of having the handrails crop at the same line as the stairs they follow, but it is causing us issues with handrail generation at the bottom of the stairs.

Our standard approach so far has been to set stairs to 'Start with Riser' rather than 'Start with Tread'. We choose this options because if we choose 'Start with Tread' it creates the false appearance in plan that there is an additional tread (and associated riser) at the bottom of the stairs, coplanar with the landing surface. The 3d model does not show this mythical tread at the bottom story, it is only visible in the plan symbol. However, when associating a handrail to the stair the handrail does not extend far enough down at the bottom end...it stops at the first nosing above the landing which is not code compliant. If we modify the handrail settings to extend it then it extends too far at the top of the stair. The handrail tool does not appear to give us the option to differentiate extension length at the top vs the bottom.

So we are forced to either use 2D fills to hide the mythical bottom tread from view in plans, or stick with 'Start with Riser' and locally modify the bottom node of the handrail to correct the bottom extension length. Unfortunately once you modify the placement of a node it breaks the associativity of that node to the stair and makes it impossible to perform future modifications to the railing using settings. ie: if you try and modify the offset parameter for example the offset will not apply to the bottom segment of handrail related to that node...so you basically have to rebuild the handrail.

This could all be solved if it were possible to hide this mythical bottom tread shown in the plan symbol. Is this possible? Please?

[Jeff Galbraith]

A check box to hide the mythical bottom tread would also be helpful. Frankly I can't think of a single instance where I would want to see a tread on plan that doesn't exist in my modeled stair. Seems like it would make sense to have that visibility tied to the monolithic stair settings.

[Maxam]

Bumping this because we're now on ArchiCad 26, and it's still dumb AF that there is that bottom tread showing. Fix this Graphisoft....   Also was fighting all week with the dumb handrail extension settings which need a user-interface overhaul, and need to be be able to fully 'syringe' up the properties of one to make a matching one with sloped bottom extension that returns to the wall, and a horizontal top extension that returns to a wall.  Basic stuff like this that is in every project shouldnt be this hard.

[Barry Kelly]

I assume it is just so the bottom tread can be stretched out (re-shaped) to form a bottom landing that will not count as a tread.

The same applies to the top, if you show it as a tread, you can reshape it to form a landing.

If you don't want the tread at the bottom, just start with a riser.

Barry.