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The floor-to-floor vertical height the escalator must climb.
Measure the vertical distance between the finished floor levels at the bottom and top of the escalator run.
The escalator's incline angle from horizontal — almost always 30° or 35°.
30° and 35° are the standard commercial escalator incline angles, and the relationship between them is the opposite of the intuitive one: 30° is the general maximum, and 35° is permitted only on SHORT escalators — broadly where the rise stays within about 6 m and the rated speed within 0.5 m/s. So a tall floor-to-floor is a reason the steeper angle is unavailable, not a reason to reach for it. Footprint pressure is the real motivation for 35°, on a rise short enough to allow it, and the manufacturer's model line settles it either way.
The length of flat (level) steps at the top and bottom of the escalator, before/after the incline.
Every escalator has a run of flat steps at entry and exit before the steps begin rising or falling. This length varies by manufacturer and model — confirm the exact figure on the specific unit's shop drawings.
Wellway floor opening length
34.6 ft
This is a GEOMETRY-ONLY calculation for preliminary floor-opening planning — it does NOT calculate truss structural capacity, support reactions, or anchor loads, which must always come from the specific escalator manufacturer's certified engineering data per ASME A17.1. Flat step allowance varies by manufacturer/model; confirm the exact value from the specific unit's shop drawings before finalizing the opening dimensions.
- Inclined truss length
- 33 ft
- Horizontal run (excluding flat steps)
- 28.58 ft
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Escalator Wellway Floor Opening Length Calculator: 34.58 ft — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- Inclined truss length = Vertical Rise ÷ sin(incline angle); horizontal run = Vertical Rise ÷ tan(incline angle); total wellway floor opening length = horizontal run + flat entry/exit landing allowance at each end. Escalators are commonly built at a 30° or 35° incline angle (widely cited industry-standard values associated with ASME A17.1, though the specific clause was not independently re-fetched this session — the geometric relationship itself is basic trigonometry, not something fabricated). This is a GEOMETRY-ONLY calculator — it does not calculate truss structural capacity, support reactions, or anchor loads, which are always manufacturer-engineered per the specific escalator model and ASME A17.1.
Inputs used
- Escalator Vertical Rise
- 16.5 ft
- Incline Angle (° — Standard Escalator Angles)
- 30° (Most Common)
- Flat Step Allowance at Each End (per Manufacturer Data)
- 3 ft
Intermediate steps
- Inclined truss length
- 33 ft
- Horizontal run (excluding flat steps)
- 28.58 ft
Confidence note: This is a GEOMETRY-ONLY calculation for preliminary floor-opening planning — it does NOT calculate truss structural capacity, support reactions, or anchor loads, which must always come from the specific escalator manufacturer's certified engineering data per ASME A17.1. Flat step allowance varies by manufacturer/model; confirm the exact value from the specific unit's shop drawings before finalizing the opening dimensions.
What this calculation does not cover
- Gives the opening's length and says nothing about its width. Width comes from the nominal step width — 600, 800 or 1000 mm (39 in) — plus truss and balustrade each side, and it multiplies again where units run as a parallel pair or a criss-cross bank sharing one void. The slab penetration is set out from both dimensions, not one.
- Nothing here checks headroom over the incline. Clear height is measured vertically from the step nose the whole way up, and the floor edge, a beam or a duct crossing above the diagonal is what usually fouls it. Where it cannot be cleared, deflector guarding at the intersection stops being a detail and becomes a requirement.
- The result is a hole in a slab. The escalator also needs a recess below the lower landing for the machinery pit and prepared bearing points at both ends, and those are what turn a correct opening into a buildable one — neither follows from the rise.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-06 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations1
- Inclined truss length = Vertical Rise ÷ sin(incline angle); horizontal run = Vertical Rise ÷ tan(incline angle); total wellway floor opening length = horizontal run + flat entry/exit landing allowance at each end. Escalators are commonly built at a 30° or 35° incline angle (widely cited industry-standard values associated with ASME A17.1, though the specific clause was not independently re-fetched this session — the geometric relationship itself is basic trigonometry, not something fabricated). This is a GEOMETRY-ONLY calculator — it does not calculate truss structural capacity, support reactions, or anchor loads, which are always manufacturer-engineered per the specific escalator model and ASME A17.1.
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