How should the number of stairs be counted, and how many should there be?
Count the risers: each time the foot rises to the next level (each tappa) is one stair. Keep the number odd, and since stairs carry three currents named Indra, Yama and Raj (like ida, pingala and sushumna, or plus, minus and neutral), count Indra, Yama, Raj in turn and make the last step fall on Raj or Indra, never on Yama, as the 8th would. Then the current reaches the upper floor positive.
Related questions
If stairs have to be built in the North out of compulsion, how should they be made?
Leave some space in the North and build the stairs of wood, since wood also represents Mercury and is light. If a cement structure is unavoidable, leave even more space. Never make them anticlockwise or spiral: anticlockwise and rounded stairs should not be built anywhere in the house.
A house has its entry in the Agni kon (South-East), an underground water tank in the South-East with the stairs over it, and the slope running to the South. The family fights constantly. What is the remedy?
Either leave the house or treat it: close the South-East underground water tank immediately and correct the slope. The staircase can stay. An overhead tank in the South-East is acceptable.
Are stairs made of mixed iron and plywood acceptable in the North?
Stairs should not be built in the North at all; if they must be, use wood. Many showrooms with wooden double-height staircases are found to do very well, because wood represents Mercury just as stairs and business do, so wooden stairs boost intelligence and keep business running.
Are stairs that rise from the middle and go to both sides proper?
Yes, they are perfectly fine; the palaces of kings and maharajas had stairs on both sides.
Are the water supply lines coming into the house counted as water bodies?
No. Water lines reach every zone anyway through washrooms and taps, and lines inside the ground do not have much effect. Only dirty water lines matter, which is why they should run clockwise.
Can a septic tank be placed under the stairs?
No, a septic tank does not work under the stairs.