Taking the stairs is a great way to increase your daily physical activity. But let’s face it—if you must decide between riding to the 5th floor in a carpeted, well-lit elevator (which requires no effort) versus walking up flights of stairs surrounded by stark gray walls and concrete floors, which would you choose? An important motivator in encouraging people to take the stairs is making stairwells a safer, more inviting place to be.

What We Did

Through CDC’s “StairWELL to Better Health” project, the Rhodes Building stairwells were rejuvenated. First, carpeting was laid over the concrete stairs and flooring, and rubber treading was added to each of the steps to maximize safety.

Next, the bare walls were transformed by adding brightly colored paint, with each floor a different color. Framed artwork also was added to each floor, which featured people being active, photos of nutritious foods, and picturesque scenery. Royalty-free clip-art was used for many of the pictures, to keep the cost of artwork low.

Before and After example of stairwell improvments

Before
After

What You Can Do

A word about permits: check with your building manager and safety officer to identify all relevant permits, fire and building codes BEFORE you make your purchases. It would be a shame to spend a lot of money on framed artwork, for example, only to find out that it is against code in your area to hang them!

• Carpet your stairwell if it isn’t already, or if the carpet is in bad repair.
• Add rubber treading for safety.
• Paint the walls bright colors.
• Hang artwork in the stairwell, if permitted. Other ideas for framed art include cartoons and children’s art. Pictures should be changed periodically to keep stair users from getting bored.
• See Project Check list for materials and budget worksheets
• Be sure to leave room for motivational signs. The next page gives you examples of fun and functional motivational signs.

References

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical activity and health: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 1996.

Not sure what you will need to prepare your stairwells to become StairWELLs? To properly prepare for your stairs to become a safe and inviting and place to be, you’ll need some basic supplies and equipment for renovation.

Paint — to make your stairwells bright and colorful.

Carpet — easier on the feet than concrete, and more attractive too!

Rubber Stair Treads — necessary for extra safety when taking the stairs.

Framed Artwork — gives people something to look at while they are walking up and down.

Motivational Signs — both inside and outside the stairwell.

Music — also helps create interest and increase use.

Budget Worksheet — some general guidelines to developing a budget for your project.

Some Basic Supplies and Equipment

The stairwell project at the Rhodes Building cost $18,200, including the infrared tracking system. It is very difficult to accurately predict what a similar project will cost somewhere else, or even what supplies, materials, equipment, or permits will be necessary. Before starting your stairwell renovation, check with your building manager about the possibilities. Also, don’t limit yourself to the changes we made in our StairWELL project — use your needs assessment time to understand what employees would like and use.

People considering replicating this project have asked us about project costs. We have included some of our cost and material information for reference only. The cost of our project was substantially reduced because the building mangers were preparing to renovate the stairwell anyway. We only had to make up the difference in materials and labor above what they had already scheduled for renovation. Also, material and labor costs vary considerably across the country. In the Project Checklist, we’ve provided some information to help you estimate costs for your area.

A word about permits: Check with your building manager and safety officer to identify all relevant permits, fire and building codes BEFORE you make your purchases. It would be a shame to spend a lot of money on framed artwork, for example, only to find out that it is against code in your area to hang them!

Paint

Paint is one of the most inexpensive ways to make a large visual impact in your stairwells. We used brightly colored paint to make the stairwell landing walls cheerful and inviting. The wall on each floor’s landing was painted a different color. We also painted the stair railings a color that coordinated with the carpet. The floor numbers (1,2,3,4 or 5) were painted (in the corresponding color) on the stairwell door for each floor.

Carpet

Installing carpet, if not already present, can make a huge difference in the visual appeal and comfort of your stairwell. You might find it is easier to pick a carpet color first, and then coordinate your paint choices to it.

Rubber Stair Treads

If you decide to install carpet in your stairwell, make sure to include rubber safety treading in your budget. It is relatively inexpensive and will help make your stairwell a safer place to walk. Make sure to take your carpet color choice into consideration when picking out your rubber safety tread.

Framed Artwork

We chose images for our artwork in the halls that showed people being physically active and focused on healthy eating and other healthy behaviors. The images we used are royalty-free and came from stock image banks.

With these types of stock image banks, you make a one-time purchase of the image, and therefore do not have to pay any type of royalty/usage fee. If your budget is very limited, there are searchable banks for free images on the Internet. If you obtain one of high enough quality (suggested dpi of at least 300) you can have the images enlarged and framed.

We chose to place four pictures on each floor — one large, framed picture (72″ X 72″) with three smaller, framed pictures (20″ X 20″) centered under.

Motivational Signs

Motivational signs are a great way to encourage people to use your new StairWELL. If you want to create your own signs, testing them with the employees in your building is an important step. To develop our signs, an in-house moderator conducted two focus groups (lasting one hour each) to see how well a variety of messages tested with the audience (employees working in our building.) The first focus group was done with employees who frequently used the stairs. The second focus group was done with employees who were not frequent stair users. Participants in both groups were asked to:

Which floor their offices were located, and how their bodies reacted when they walked the stairs.

Share their feelings about 24 mock signs, which highlighted various motivational messages.

The information gathered from the focus groups was then used to further tailor the messages to meet the needs and perceptions of the audience. In-house graphics staff created 14 final motivational signs (13 ¾” x 8 1/8″) that were posted strategically at “points-of-decision” around the building (e.g., sign at the elevator saying, “No waiting one door over.”).

The total production cost for the 14 signs was $700. We used its in-house graphic resources for most of this thereby reducing the cost of designing and producing the signs. See the signs we created.

Not sure what you will need to prepare your stairwells to become StairWELLs? To properly prepare for your stairs to become a safe and inviting and place to be, you’ll need some basic supplies and equipment for renovation.

Paint — to make your stairwells bright and colorful.

Carpet — easier on the feet than concrete, and more attractive too!

Rubber Stair Treads — necessary for extra safety when taking the stairs.

Framed Artwork — gives people something to look at while they are walking up and down.

Motivational Signs — both inside and outside the stairwell.

Music — also helps create interest and increase use.

Budget Worksheet — some general guidelines to developing a budget for your project.

Some Basic Supplies and Equipment

The stairwell project at the Rhodes Building cost $18,200, including the infrared tracking system. It is very difficult to accurately predict what a similar project will cost somewhere else, or even what supplies, materials, equipment, or permits will be necessary. Before starting your stairwell renovation, check with your building manager about the possibilities. Also, don’t limit yourself to the changes we made in our StairWELL project — use your needs assessment time to understand what employees would like and use.

People considering replicating this project have asked us about project costs. We have included some of our cost and material information for reference only. The cost of our project was substantially reduced because the building mangers were preparing to renovate the stairwell anyway. We only had to make up the difference in materials and labor above what they had already scheduled for renovation. Also, material and labor costs vary considerably across the country. In the Project Checklist, we’ve provided some information to help you estimate costs for your area.

A word about permits: Check with your building manager and safety officer to identify all relevant permits, fire and building codes BEFORE you make your purchases. It would be a shame to spend a lot of money on framed artwork, for example, only to find out that it is against code in your area to hang them!

Paint

Paint is one of the most inexpensive ways to make a large visual impact in your stairwells. We used brightly colored paint to make the stairwell landing walls cheerful and inviting. The wall on each floor’s landing was painted a different color. We also painted the stair railings a color that coordinated with the carpet. The floor numbers (1,2,3,4 or 5) were painted (in the corresponding color) on the stairwell door for each floor.

Carpet

Installing carpet, if not already present, can make a huge difference in the visual appeal and comfort of your stairwell. You might find it is easier to pick a carpet color first, and then coordinate your paint choices to it.

Rubber Stair Treads

If you decide to install carpet in your stairwell, make sure to include rubber safety treading in your budget. It is relatively inexpensive and will help make your stairwell a safer place to walk. Make sure to take your carpet color choice into consideration when picking out your rubber safety tread.

Framed Artwork

We chose images for our artwork in the halls that showed people being physically active and focused on healthy eating and other healthy behaviors. The images we used are royalty-free and came from stock image banks.

With these types of stock image banks, you make a one-time purchase of the image, and therefore do not have to pay any type of royalty/usage fee. If your budget is very limited, there are searchable banks for free images on the Internet. If you obtain one of high enough quality (suggested dpi of at least 300) you can have the images enlarged and framed.

We chose to place four pictures on each floor — one large, framed picture (72″ X 72″) with three smaller, framed pictures (20″ X 20″) centered under.

Motivational Signs

Motivational signs are a great way to encourage people to use your new StairWELL. If you want to create your own signs, testing them with the employees in your building is an important step. To develop our signs, an in-house moderator conducted two focus groups (lasting one hour each) to see how well a variety of messages tested with the audience (employees working in our building.) The first focus group was done with employees who frequently used the stairs. The second focus group was done with employees who were not frequent stair users. Participants in both groups were asked to:

Which floor their offices were located, and how their bodies reacted when they walked the stairs.

Share their feelings about 24 mock signs, which highlighted various motivational messages.

The information gathered from the focus groups was then used to further tailor the messages to meet the needs and perceptions of the audience. In-house graphics staff created 14 final motivational signs (13 ¾” x 8 1/8″) that were posted strategically at “points-of-decision” around the building (e.g., sign at the elevator saying, “No waiting one door over.”).

The total production cost for the 14 signs was $700. We used its in-house graphic resources for most of this thereby reducing the cost of designing and producing the signs. See the signs we created.

Looking for more ways to improve your stairwells? If your budget allows, you may want to work with an interior designer or color consultant to help you create the right “feel” for your stairwells. If not, consider the following ideas.

Physical Alterations to the Stairwell

• Adding carpet and rubber treading will increase safety and make your stairwell more inviting.
• Use creative lighting (e.g., track lighting, incandescent lighting, or halogen lighting).
• Create theme stairwells (e.g., transport stair users to a Hawaiian beach or tropical rainforest during their trip up or down the stairs, or make your own cartoon and have a frame or two per floor).
• Create a catchy rhyme with several lines. Put the first line of the rhyme on the first floor, the second line on the second floor, etc. One would have to travel all the way to the top to read the entire rhyme!
• Include an electronic message board.
• Add footsteps that lead from the elevators to the stairs and have a message spelled out along the way.
• Post arrows showing the way to the stairs.
• Create a “fitness zone” inside the stairwell: “You are entering the Fitness Zone.”
• Put numbers on the doors to let users know which floor they’re on.
• Start at bottom floor and give each stair a number so that users can easily track their progress.
• Allow users to add their signatures to each floor creating a graffiti wall.

Incentives

Incentives can be a great way to encourage people to use the stairs. Use your focus groups, or what ever method you are using to gather information about the signs, colors, and artwork to find out what kinds of incentives, within policy regulations, employees in your office would appreciate.

• Make it seem as if users are climbing some fixed point such as Mount Everest or a local landmark. On each flight, show them a “map” of where they are.
• Hold drawings among stairwell users for prizes, if such incentives are permitted. A kick-off event could be held with a “grand re-opening” of your stairwell. Another idea to consider is holding a contest where employees keep track of the number of flights they walk in a week or a month. Award prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place! If prizes aren’t an option, have a contest where the winner may select the music or art in the stairwells for the next week or month.
• Have a general contest for slogans to increase stair use. These slogans can be incorporated into your artwork and motivational signs. Be sure to note who’s slogan is on which sign!

What You Can Do

Checklist

check square icon Increase AWARENESS: Make people aware of the stair options. For example, hang signs by the elevators saying, “Have you thought of taking the stairs today?” Remind people of the health benefits associated with physical activity, and appeal to the environmentally conscious by pointing out how much energy is used in running an elevator.

check square icon Enhance SKILLS: Build employee self-confidence. Help those who are willing to take the stairs, but who tire easily or have other barriers to overcome to successfully use the stairs on a regular basis. Employees don’t have to be able to do 5 or 10 flights at a time. Provide motivation and support for taking the stairs even once a day, one flight a day, and build from there. This is where counting the stairs, marking how far one has gone on the stairs, and other such skill-building interventions are appropriate.

check square icon Provide OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRIAL BEHAVIOR: Offer opportunities for people to try using the stairs without ridicule or experiencing “failure.” Perhaps sponsor a “use the stairs for a day” campaign or make it fun and give people incentives and rewards for using the stairs for one flight, one day, or for one week.

check square icon Create a SUPPORTIVE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT: If your stairwells were particularly unpleasant before your renovation, it may take some time to change people’s attitude about the stairwells. Talk about the stairwell in a positive manner, and make it seem like a fun place. Let the stairwell be a happy, fun place to be by providing employees with encouragement, incentives, and messages that support this perception.

check square icon Create a SUPPORTIVE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT: Clean, paint, and decorate the stairwell; add music and other physical intervention ideas to make the stairwell a pleasant place to be. Commit to maintaining the stairwell so it always looks its best!

Music

We installed a digital satellite receiver that feeds the incoming signal into an integrated amplifier that, in turn, feeds five stairwell speakers (one on each floor). Four of the speakers are circular, ceiling-mounted speakers located on the door landing for each of the first four floors. The fifth speaker is a wall-mount on the fifth- floor door landing.

This digital satellite music system can help create almost any type of atmosphere through a variety of musical genres (e.g., classical, country, jazz, Latin, oldies, popular contemporary, and urban, among others). Also, you don’t have to decide on just one type of music and stick with it. Most digital satellite systems allow you change the type of music that plays with just a click of a button.

One person in each building should be designated to make the music selections on a routine basis. In the Rhodes Building, the “controls” are located inside the LAN Administrator’s office, thus he decides what music plays and when to change it. He is, however, receptive to employees’ requests for a change in music.

We paid approximately $500 to have the digital satellite equipment installed (allow 10-14 business days to order and install). Each month, we pay $55 to keep our service active.

Budget Worksheet

Use this budget worksheet to help you estimate the cost of renovating your stairwell.

$ ______________ Paint
$ ______________ Carpet
$ ______________ Rubber Stairtreads

Motivational Signs

$ ______________Focus Groups
$ ______________Sign Production
$ ______________Sign Mountings

$ ______________ Motivational Signs (Total)

Framed Artwork

$ ______________Graphic purchase
$ ______________ Print production
$ ______________ Mounting/Framing
$ ______________ Installation

$ ______________ Framed artwork (Total)

$ ______________ Purchase/Instillation of Digital Satellite Receiver
$ ______________ Monthly subscription fee (ongoing)

$ ______________ Tracking system (if applicable)

$ ______________ Project TOTAL