The natural flow of the deck is to encourage people to move down to the lower level.Р”В¬heck out this picture to see what I mean and if it might apply to your situation. It will look like it is part of the design and maybe large enough to stage a gas grill for easy access to the kitchen but not large enough to encourage hanging around or sitting up there. What I often do when I build where the first floor is 4'-5' above ground and I am using two or more levels of deck to get down to the grade is I build a landing that is just large enough to look attractive. You may wish to consider a landing regardless of any exemption that might apply and this is simply to create a more visually appealing structure than a purely utilitarian set of stairs. If you want to learn more about the specific landing requirements of the OBC check out the following table:Р”Р„s you can see, the minimum depth for a landing vary, however, all minimums (aside from the exceptions) seem to be greater than 1.5'. Of course, a railing is required along the stairs and the landing given the elevations you have mentioned.Р”В®xcerpt from the Ontario Building Code, Section 9.8.6.3 And it would also have to be at least 35' long or outward from the house. Think about how this will look.Р”Р„lso for your information, if you did have a swinging door that swung outwards to the stair your landing would have to be at least as wide as the stairs and the minimum width of a stair is 36'. But it may not look that attractive to have a very small or insignificant landing near the sliding door even though you might technically be able to do so. However, I would recommend using a landing.Р”Р‡rom a practical point of view, it sounds like you need to get down from the door sill to the next lower deck as quickly as possible. So, according to this exception you do not necessarily need a landing. The OBC then says there is an exception when the door is a sliding door or swings into the house, away from the stair. You project will be more than three rises which means you would need a landing.Р”В«ut it gets a bit more complicated. There is an exception for a landing of a secondary entrance (i.e., a back door) where the number of rises in the stair is not more than three. Landing Requirements for OBC Single Dwellings Since you are from Ontario I am going to refer specifically to the 2012 Ontario Building Code (OBC) and in your case-I assume, a single family dwelling. I am being told that I can only do 1.5', but this seems dangerous and impractical to me.Р”В®ditorРІР‚в„ўs Comments There are building code requirements for building a deck stair landing which stipulate what the minimum depth of that landing must be. The landing would be outside sliding doors, approximately 3' off the ground and would lead to stairs and a lower deck area. Is there a minimum width (distance along the house) and length (distance out from the house) that a deck stair landing must be? Is There a Minimum Width and Length Requirement for a Landing in Ontario?

Ontario building code indoor stairs