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November 30, 2010

I need a child gate for my spiral stair.

I have been asked this question many times but still do not have a positive answer. I have never yet found a manufacturer who has produced a child gate specifically for spiral staircases. This is not really surprising, the market for such a product is not particularly large and the variation in designs of spiral stair must make the design of a universal spiral stair child gate a near impossibility.

That said I think that most child gates on the market could be adapted by a competent DIY'er to fit most spiral stairs, with the possible exception of small spiral stairs of say less than 1500mm diameter for which I think the tread width would be too narrow for the minimum width of most gates.

. You could argue that spiral stair manufacturers could produce child gates for their own products. This is true, but again the demand probably does not warrant the research and design. Also in this age of ligation at the drop of hat, the risks of being taken to court for an accident due to the failure of the gate kills any further thoughts of offering a product.

There is not a lot I can suggest to help I am afraid, once upon a time nearly all fathers would have had the skills to cobble together a spiral stair child gate out of bits they had found in the shed. That would now be the exception rather than the rule in these computer skills only times. I suppose the only suggestion I have is to get your dad working on the project for his grandchildren.

The Stair Doctor

November 23, 2010

Can my Klan kit spiral staircase rotate in the opposite direction.

Yes the rotation of the Klan spiral stair can be chosen on site. This is also true of most of the popular kit spiral stair kits. The treads are symmetrical so they can rotate either way. There is however a point to bear in mind. The Klan spiral stair kit like most spiral stair kits uses solid beech treads made up of strips of wood glued together, this actually helps prevent warping. The treads are shaped in such a way that the leading (front facing) edge of the tread has a face that shows the lineal grain of the wood. The opposite edge (back facing) will show the end grain of each strip of wood and is therefore not so attractive, which is why it is hidden at the back. What this means is that to reverse the direction of rotation of the whole spiral stair each tread has to be turned over in order to maintain the attractive lineal grain at the front edge. This may sound obvious but you can also reverse the direction of rotation by just swinging the treads round in the opposite direction, this may work just as well but it will not look so good.

This raises the question of, are you trying to reverse the direction of rotation of an existing spiral stair or is it a spiral stair kit being erected for the first time. You can still reverse it in either case, but the treads in the case of the existing spiral stair may have fixing holes in the surface of the tread for such things as balusters or risers bars. These holes may be redundant but exposed if you choose to turn the tread over to reverse the direction.

The Stair Doctor

November 17, 2010

I cannot find an electric loft ladder to suit my joist spacings,why.

Most electric loft ladder systems are made to standard modular sizes in order to reduce production costs and therefore also the cost that you pay. Most manufacturers will produce made-to-measure electric loft ladder sizes, but it will increase the price considerably.

Electric loft ladders also have limits in both width and length of hatch size. There is for instance a minimum width that is determined by the amount of width that you need to squeeze in both the ladder and the operating gear. The Fantozzi FE1 electric loft ladder cannot be squeezed into a width of less than 650mm and this is typical of most pantograph metal ladder systems. The length is governed by weight, too long and the hatch will weigh too much for the electric loft ladder operating system. Again the Fantozzi FE1 electric loft ladder can be no longer than 1300mm in hatch size.

You also have to consider the practicalities, most UK houses have joist spacing between 400mm and 600mm which is really too narrow for a comfortable loft access. It seems pointless to spend £ 2000 on a lovely easy to use electric loft ladder, only to find that the size is too small for comfortable access.

In my opinion once you have made the decision to get comfortable access to your model railway in the loft via an electric loft ladder, it makes economic and practical sense to use a standard size and have your existing loft hatch made to suit. Trimming ceiling joists is usually easier and less expensive than you think. You do however have to be more careful with modern trussed roofs where you may need to seek advice before you start cutting out truss elements.

The Stair and Electric Loft Ladder Doctor

November 09, 2010

Why do spiral stairs need to be a certain diameter in order to comply with the Regulations.

Actually spiral stairs do not need to be any specific diameter to comply with any of the Building Regulations covering the UK and Ireland. What spiral stairs do need is to have a certain amount of clear width depending on their usage. The clear width of spiral staircase is defined in B.S. 5395 part 2 as the distance between the outside of the centre pole and the inside of the handrail. This in effect is the amount of clear space that you have to ascend the stair. You will find more in depth details of this in my previous blogs, but basically in houses secondary spiral stairs serving one room need 600mm clear width, and primary spiral stairs serving more than one room need 800mm clear width

In practise secondary spiral staircases are likely to be no less 1500mm in diameter, maybe 1400mm at a pinch, and primary spiral staircases no less than 1850mm in diameter. You cannot be specific because it all depends on the spiral stair construction details, such as the centre pole and handrail sizes which will affect the clear width. popular kit spiral stairs such as the Klan spiral stair or the Genius spiral stair require a 1500mm diameter to comply as a secondary stair and are not available in sizes large enough for a primary spiral stair. Primary spirals stairs come into the realm of the bespoke spiral stair and you are hardly likely to find any stair construction that gives a clear width of 800mm in less than a diameter of 1850mm., and in many cases it is more likely to be nearer 2000mm.

The Stair Doctor

November 03, 2010

Can I have a spiral stair made to match my bamboo flooring.

OK I have to admit it, the old Stair Doctor does not really know the answer for once.

Bamboo has been used forever in the East as a building material because of its strength durability and cheapness. Over recent years it has become popular in the West as a flooring material which as bamboo is a grass not a wood is supposed to make it a green renewable resource. I have a feeling that the transport from the tropics to the US or Europe probably cancels most of its green credentials, but what do I know about anything.

Most bamboo used in the UK seems to be in flooring, where I think it is processed by gluing strips together then planing it down into planks, or it is chibbled up into strands and glued together like chipboard. There may be other processes but it is not important to the spiral staircase question how it is made. What is important is whether the attractive product is available in thick enough planks for stair manufacturer to machine it up into an attractive spiral staircase.

I have not been able to find anybody who is doing this at the moment, and I suspect that we are still some way off before someone takes the financial risk of introducing this to the market. However I think the situation will change one day because grass grows quicker than trees and it must be an advantage to be able to run your lawn mower over it every five years to obtain usable construction material.

You may have more luck than me in your search, but even if you do I suspect it will be very expensive and probably not match your flooring anyway, unless the bamboo comes from the same processing plant. Personally I think attempting to match any household fixture such a staircase to another such as flooring or kitchen units can end in tears whatever you choose. Wood, or grass for that matter, are natural products that will have natural variations in colour across one tree never mind the same species of tree from another forest. This variation is what makes real wood look better than any imitation.

Most kit manufactured stairs are made from beech which is then stained to different colours. You can invariably find a decent colour within the colour range to match either natural or the darker carbonised bamboo. With made-to-measure spiral staircases you will have more options on timber species and if you wish can probably play around with stains to get a colour match. Who knows you may even find a joiners shop who will make a whole stair from bamboo for you.

As a final thought you might like to consider an old Navaho Indian architects adage which says "If you cannot match it, contrast it". I think a totally different colour can some times add to the appeal