Any clever ideas about this stair problem?

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I'm hoping to put an extension on the side of my house and need to work out a way to gain access to the new upstairs area. I don't seem to have much scope to alter the existing staircase, I wonder if you guys can come up with any clever solution?

The top picture is as it is now, showing the upstairs rooms. Firstly those doors are only 13cm from the top of the stairs so that's not Part K compliant any more, anyway.

The second picture shows the proposed extension area and it's that which we're trying to get access to. Ideally I would be able to replace the kite winders with a square landing and then go left to the existing rooms and right to the new ones, but you can appreciate that the new square landing would initially be far too low to then get up on the left side, right? Two whole steps too low, in fact, if it replaced the current kite winders.

So, can I raise the whole staircase by starting it further back so that by the time it reaches the point where it needs to branch left and right, it's already high enough to do that with just one extra step each way? I have room for two more treads at the bottom without running out of space for that bottom landing (i.e. a square of sides the same as the staircase width), BUT I only have about 10cm of headroom to play with before I hit the 200cm requirement, so I don't think I can do that, either.

Can anyone think of a way to turn the stairs off to the right somehow, without ruining access to the left? The last resort is to sacrifice a chunk of one of the existing upstairs rooms to make a new, larger landing.



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Thanks
 
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Is there any merit in fitting a new stair with a tighter rise/going combination?

Unless I'm not picturing it right in my head, regardless of the rise/going combination I'm limited to 42 degrees overall (which my current stairs are at already) and so I'll still not gain the height I need, right?
 
Correct. What about changing the stair to have a couple of winders at the bottom? Or will issues with headroom occur then? BTW sometimes the 2m can be reduced a little if the BCO is accommodating and there is no other way. It's the kind of problem I would tackle by drawing accurately in the first place and messing about with different configurations really. Are you going to be getting a designer to get some drawings together or not reached that stage yet?
 
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Correct. What about changing the stair to have a couple of winders at the bottom? Or will issues with headroom occur then? BTW sometimes the 2m can be reduced a little if the BCO is accommodating and there is no other way. It's the kind of problem I would tackle by drawing accurately in the first place and messing about with different configurations really. Are you going to be getting a designer to get some drawings together or not reached that stage yet?

There's space for a winder at the bottom (if I reconfigured access and room usage, which isn't a problem) but I would still run into headroom problems, I think. I have about 10cm spare headroom at the lowest point and each riser being about 23cm means there's not a lot to play with. Two new steps would have me actually bumping my head!
 
If the stair is as tight a pitch as it can be and only limited scope to shift it with your headroom issue there prolly won't be a magic bullet solution. Maybe download sketchup (free) and mess about with it on there working in 3D can sometimes throw up things you'd not thought of. Fitting stairs in to a tight space is often very awkward and looking at sketches on a forum is unlikely to to provide an ideal solution.
 
I suppose I can't do anything really weird like these?

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You don't have to slavishly follow the dimensions in AD K; what matters ultimately is that the stairs should be safe.
Safety can come with familiarity in use, particularly if the access is only to a single new room.
There are many instances such as yours, where a 1st floor side extension has to be approached off winders, and inspectors should be
flexible on this. The top-right scheme - or a varitation of it - may have merit.
 
You don't have to slavishly follow the dimensions in AD K; what matters ultimately is that the stairs should be safe.
Safety can come with familiarity in use, particularly if the access is only to a single new room.
There are many instances such as yours, where a 1st floor side extension has to be approached off winders, and inspectors should be
flexible on this. The top-right scheme - or a varitation of it - may have merit.

Since the whole project depends on this, I can't apply for PP before it's resolved, e.g. I may even elect to go with single-storey only, for example. So, will my local BC department be willing to comment on this matter informally if I provide them with plans, or will I need to submit formally and wait?
 
If you (or preferably your builder) use a private firm of inspectors, they are far more likely to be realistic and sensible about
your proposal than the local authority bods would be.
 
If you (or preferably your builder) use a private firm of inspectors, they are far more likely to be realistic and sensible about
your proposal than the local authority bods would be.

But the LA would ultimately have to see the plans at some point, no?
 
No; whatever is shown internally on the plans for the planning application, can be changed when it comes to Building Control.
 
No; whatever is shown internally on the plans for the planning application, can be changed when it comes to Building Control.

I mean this "private firm of inspectors" you mention, are they different to the official BC people? You can have things inspected by someone private, then, and BC just take their word for it?
 
Building Control for any particular project can be undertaken either by the local council OR by private inspectors. Both will check the work as it proceeds, and both will issue a Certificate of Completion. You have the option of choosing either route.

If you choose private, they have to tell the local authority they are undertaking the Building Control function (the 'initial notice')
and on completion will issue you and the l.a. the final certificate. Other than that, the local authority have no input.

Many people believe that private inspectors are more flexible in how they interpret the Building Regs - and that local authority inspectors can be more bureaucratic and demanding. Your staircase issue is one such aspect where private inspectors might be more flexible.
 
Here's one that might be a bit better:

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Existing // Proposed


There'd be a bulkhead in the (new) room below but that's no problem.
 
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