Fantasy Idea..New Set of Stairs! [Dissection Added]

[shivering]

Hey all!

Ive just bought a new house which has a boarded out loft (something i shall explore) but i was looking at pics i took on one of the days i went to view and was toying with the idea of a lovely new staircase.

I believe i stand in a good position as the floor to ceiling height on the first floor is larger than normal houses which makes the space on the original stairwell quite large, have a look what you experts think. Above where the arrow is there is aquite abit of room, can get measurements if it seems like a good idea.

Is a new stairwell above this one following the same design feazable? How much support will be required for this new stairwell?

Ive checked today to see if the wall on right in the first picture is a supporting wall and its not, just a partion.

What do you reckon?

and

 

[noseall]

a site visit, in this case, is essential.

you require 2m headroom from tread tip to underside of finished ceiling.

 

[shivering]

a site visit, in this case, is essential.

you require 2m headroom from tread tip to underside of finished ceiling.

Hmm, definately another site visit in order, there is near 3 metres between the top step and the ceiling at the moment its just whether there will still be a good two metres with the new staircase in, but then again itll be going into the loft so im guessing you can steal a little room there.

I think im going to have to look for an idiots checklist guide to having a new staircase

Has anyone here done a similar project, i was just thinking of projected costs...

 

[Bowness72]

If your new stair follows the same layout as the one below you will probably be ok although one thing to watch out for is that because you have high floor to ceiling heights your stair will need to be quite long to get all the risers in, which depending where the top of the new stair emerges into the loft may be taking you towards the eaves rather than under the ridge where the headroom is greater. Also as I suspect this is an older house (probably victorian ?) you may have some quite deep purlins in the roof which may reduce your headroom.

 

[shivering]

If your new stair follows the same layout as the one below you will probably be ok although one thing to watch out for is that because you have high floor to ceiling heights your stair will need to be quite long to get all the risers in, which depending where the top of the new stair emerges into the loft may be taking you towards the eaves rather than under the ridge where the headroom is greater. Also as I suspect this is an older house (probably victorian ?) you may have some quite deep purlins in the roof which may reduce your headroom.

Im going around tomorrow and will take actual measurements. Thinking about i dont believe it can follow exactly as the one below as its not possible for it to be as long. So it will be a case of it being a slightly steeper and possibly windier staircase as you say to make sure that it enters the loft at the ridge so theres more headroom. Its an old farm house that has been converted and im yet to enter the loft due to a ladder problem, i dont have one over three metres so haven't managed to get up there.

Will draw a dissection diagram tomorrow so everyone can actually see what the hell is going on .

im now thinking that if the start point of the new stairs is below the ridge then i could put a spiral staircase in which may make things a little easier, will keep you all updated for your expert advice

 

[Deluks]

Spirals are iffier than you'd first think. If you're not going to convert the loft then a spacesaver staircase is worth a mention.

 

[shivering]

Ok, well i went back to the house today and took a brief measurement of the floor to ceiling height (from floor to loft hatch) and its a whopping 3m 10cm. Im hoping that this picture makes even a little sense...

As expected, the space where ideally the new staircase would go is pretty much in line with the rise, so i think the only real option will be a spiral staircase ...or very steep winder . The question i pose now, is how much support will a spiral case require because obviously this is going to be fitted in the space (as per pic) above the current staircase, are their building regs about having spiral staircases upto lofts?

Oh and to make it really interesting I managed to get up into the loft and there seems to be a different support structure to what i have seen in previous lofts. Can these support struts be moved or replaced somewhat, maybe included into the cupboards that we would have along the sides of the room?

 

[Bowness72]

In theory there is nothing to stop you having a spiral staircase to a loft conversion although im not up on all the regs. Just be aware that they take up more space than you may think although I believe you can get away with quite a narrow flight but you need to think about what you might want to get up there via the stair. Support may be a problem depending how much building work you want to get involved with. If you use a timber spiral stair I would expect it to be lighter than a steel one and therefore be easier to support. You could get a normal timber stair manufacturer to visit the house after you move in and they might be able to give you advice about what layout of treads would work best. Some of them even have websites with various standard layouts.
It is feasible to move the roof members but will depend on exactly what is there already, eg. what size the members are, where roof loads are applied and where existing joints are in the members. Photos might help.

 

[shivering]

In theory there is nothing to stop you having a spiral staircase to a loft conversion although im not up on all the regs. Just be aware that they take up more space than you may think although I believe you can get away with quite a narrow flight but you need to think about what you might want to get up there via the stair. Support may be a problem depending how much building work you want to get involved with. If you use a timber spiral stair I would expect it to be lighter than a steel one and therefore be easier to support. You could get a normal timber stair manufacturer to visit the house after you move in and they might be able to give you advice about what layout of treads would work best. Some of them even have websites with various standard layouts.
It is feasible to move the roof members but will depend on exactly what is there already, eg. what size the members are, where roof loads are applied and where existing joints are in the members. Photos might help.

I trust my drawing helped a little. I will take pics of the loft ASAP. I think a visit from a staircase fitter may be in order, save be alot of time measuring up, i wanted a timber staircase anyway to keep in with the character of the rest of the place..im now starting to realise this is going to be a bigger job than i first thought

Will post pics of loft soon...

Anyone put a spiral staircase in to go into their loft?

 

[Bowness72]

I do know you can get them in kit form to fit yourself.

 

[shivering]

I do know you can get them in kit form to fit yourself.

Oh right, i dont think i would have too much a problem fitting the staircase it would just be getting the support for it thats going to be the problem. They do spiral ones a small as 1000mm in diameter so should be ok with the size, its supporting it now that will be the issue.

 

[Deluks]

Get a pro staircase surveyor/fitter type person in. They'll get you a proper stair in there somehow.

 

[Symptoms]

Shivering - checkout in thecastironshop in the Caledonian Rd (near Pentonville Nick) in London. They do some fantastic stuff, including spirals and reproductions in aluminium if you're worried about weight. I bought a load of cast iron decking from them about 10 years ago, they were really helpful.

 

[shivering]

Shivering - checkout in castironshop in the Caledonian Rd (near Pentonville Nick) in London. They do some fantastic stuff, including spirals and reproductions in aluminium if you're worried about weight. I bought a load of cast iron decking from them about 10 years ago, they were really helpful.

Brilliant, cheers for that. The site looks very good. Ill give them a bell.