A new staircase could add a great new feature to your home, or be an opportunity for a radical redesign
Staircases aren’t just for trudging up and down. It might feel like that sometimes, especially when you’re late and dashing to fetch something you’ve left behind. They also create openings, entrances and dramatic perspectives – even a spot of intrigue, separating private from public. Stairs have been used for centuries as an architectural feature, from the grand sweeping staircases of the Renaissance to the narrow flights of ancient Mayan temples. Don’t neglect this principle feature – if yours is a little drab or uninspiring, it might be time to change it.
So, what can a new staircase add to your house?
A lot, says Chris Godfrey of Scape architects. ‘A stairwell can be the most powerful space in the house, so it’s worth exploiting its advantages and investing in it,’ he says. If it’s a direct replacement, it can be fairly straightforward. Or, if you want to make fundamental changes to the layout, moving the stairs can help you to alter relations between rooms and will visually connect large parts of your property. The latter will involve significant structural remodelling and will be much more costly.
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Sizing up and safety
Stairs are tightly governed by building regulations as, being a major form of access, they need to be easy to use. Risers must be 220mm maximum height, the ‘going’ (depth) of the treads must be at least 220mm, and the stairs must have a maximum pitch of 42 degrees. There must be at least 2m of headroom above the staircase. If you use an experienced joiner or buy a kit, you can be confident your stairs will comply. Copies of the building regs (it’s Part K you need) are available from the RIBA bookshop.
Materials and finishes
Timber has always been the most common material for stairs, and ready-made parts are widely available. Alternatively, a staircase fashioned entirely from metal can make a bold standalone feature. Adding glass, timber, acrylic or stone elements will soften the effect.
Design elements
Stairs comprise treads and risers which are fixed between two stringers, or they can be cantilevered from a central support underneath.
Open risers (where there are gaps left between the treads) allow more light through. Closed risers are safer for children to climb, and offer hidden storage below the stairs.
Glass, acrylic or steel treads look contemporary but can be slippery or noisy. Traditional closed balustrades, which ‘box in’ the stairs are giving way to lighter open designs.
The scale of the task varies wildly, but shop around and you could be treading a new set of boards that will transform your home.
Words: Fiona Sibley |
From spiral to dog leg, there's a whole variety of staircases to suit your home
Stairs can have a maximum of 16 steps before a landing is needed, according to building regulations. Landings can provide a change of direction at the bottom, top or mid-flight. This can be a quarter-turn, or a half-turn. Several turns can help to span greater heights within the same footprint, even if floors are spaced irregularly within the building (many Georgian houses have taller first floors than the rest). Direct flights take you up a whole floor in one continuous direction.
The ever-popular and practical ‘dog leg’ has two flights of stairs with a half-turn landing in the middle that is an economical use of space. Tapered ‘winding’ steps also save space in place of landings. But landings can frame views out of windows or into parts of the house.
Spiral stairs wind around a central pole, while helical stairs are circular with a handrail on either side.
A good, inspiring read is Stairs, by Alan and Sylvia Blanc (Architectural Press, 2001), which discusses stairs in all their different forms.
Words: Fiona Sibley |
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Every house needs a staircase, but with so many different types available it can be a little confusing
The options are to hire a joiner to design and fit a bespoke staircase, or, if you are designing a significant new feature or planning any changes to the overall plan (such as repositioning), enlist an architect or structural engineer to design a significant new feature.
For a simple replacement that you can fit yourself, an off-the-shelf kit will provide a good, affordable result and, given their modest price tags, there are some impressive designs available. ‘Staircases in most houses fit into one hole in the floor, so you can simply slot the new one into its place,’ says structural engineer Stuart Tappin.
Manufacturers offer clear planning and installation advice, and with ready-to-fit staircases starting at £1,000 plus the cost of a joiner, it needn’t break the bank. ‘On average, people pay £6,500-£8,500 for us to design and fit a staircase from start to finish,’ says John McClafferty of staircase specialists Deller McClafferty Design.
To visualise what you need, Oakleaf Industries recommends that you start by making a sketch of the space with measurements of the floor-to-floor height, floor-to-ceiling height, size of the stairwell opening and available floor space on the upper and lower floors. Make a note of any obstructions that may affect how you use the stair. ‘It’s important to carefully consider what suits the place you’re in,’ says architect Sarah Featherstone.
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