Left Versus Right Volutes

The difference is based on standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up. May 12, 2008

Question
How do I determine what is a left or right volute? Is there an industry standard or is the distinction up to the builders/manufacturers?

Forum Responses
(Architectural Woodworking Forum)
From contributor P:
When you're standing at the bottom of the stairs looking at them, if the volute is on your left, it's a left hand. If it's on the right, it's a right hand.

---

From contributor H:
If you pick up any of the sales brochures on stair parts, you will see that they are all illustrated and labeled. Everything is based on going up the stairs.

---

From the original questioner:
It looks like the company I work for has been categorizing their volutes in the opposite way. Thank you for the insight.