Project Checklist
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 Stairtreads — 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. | |
Stairwell Use Tracking system — If you are interested in tracking how much more employees are taking the stairs. | |
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.
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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 Stairtreads
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 such as
- Digital Vision: http://www.digitalvisiononline.com/home/index.asp*
- Getty Images: http://creative.gettyimages.com/source/home/home.asp*
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.
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
Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.
* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.
Page last updated: May 22, 2007
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion