It may seem one of the most dramatic things to change when redecorating, but a new staircase can bring a whole new feel to a home. When renovating a house, a gorgeous wooden staircase can bring an open and airy feel to an otherwise close setting.
When building a loft conversion, the layout of the home can prevent extending the existing staircase to a third storey. Extensions as well often encounter the problem where you are forced to make a pay off between best use of space and creating proper access to new rooms. By opting for a spiral staircase in these cases allows you to provide simple access between floors without taking up too much space.
There are some restrictions in how you build a staircase, mainly focusing on how steep it can be and ensuring that there are no gaps large enough to get a body part stuck in.
|
Some of the specific meanings of terms used in staircases:
- Tread - each 'step' is referred to as a tread.
- Going - the horizontal distance between the front edge of each step to the next, this generally relates to how much of each Tread is usable when climbing or decending the staircase.
- Rise - The distance in height between the upper surface of each Tread.
- Pitch line - the angle at which the stairs rise, usually measured as a straight line defined by the leading corner of each tread.
- Floor-to-floor height - Simply the distance from the walking surfaces at the top and bottom of the staircase, as opposed to the height from floor to ceiling.
- Clear width - the usable width of each Tread. Usually measured from the edge of the handrail to either the opposite hand rail, wall or the central column of a spiral staircase.
- Stairwell - This is the hole in the floor in which the staircase is sited. This is either rectangular or circular (for spiral staircases).
- Spindle - The upright (usually wooden) support of a bannister or handrail.
- Landing balustrade - Balustrade (railings) which prevent people from falling into the stairwell.
- Landing platform - (Spiral staircases only) the top step, connecting the central column to the upper floor.
- Diameter - (Spiral staircases only) Overall width of a spiral staircase.
|
