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As I have said in previous blogs The Building Regulations do not really go into any detail on spiral staircases, simply saying that if they comply with BS 5395 part 2 1984 they will be adequate.
It is in BS 5395 that you will find a table categorising stairs based on their likely usage. Category A is the lowest usage spiral staircase intended for use by a limited number of people, such as a spiral staircase serving one room (not a living room or a kitchen) in a dwelling. Typically this means a one bedroom loft conversion which can also include an associated en suite bathroom. Two or more rooms moves a spiral staircase into category B which is a dramatic step both in size and cost.
Among other criteria BS 5395 uses a dimension of clear width to divide up the spiral staircase categories in its table. So a category A spiral staircase needs a clear width of 600mm where as a Category B needs 800mm. In practise this means a category A spiral staircase needs to be around at least 1500mm in diameter and a Category B around 2000mm. This makes a big difference, the cost effective and highly popular kit spiral staircases are only manufactured up to a maximum of 1600mm. So if you need a category B you are are into the realm of made-to-measure spiral staircases,this by the nature of the beast will put up the cost considerably.
The Staircase Doctor
Providing they are the same system of kit spiral stair ie. Klan yes you can. The Klan spiral staircase system as with most other kit form spiral stairs is capable of assembly with say one 13 riser kit on top of another 13 riser kit. That is not to say that the tread rotational characteristics will work with your floor-to-floor height requirements or your required access points on both floors. The problems with making a double height spiral stair work with your specific requirements has been covered in a previous blog but the following is a recap.
The stepping and and off points of a spiral stair are fixed by the degree of rotation of each tread this may not work with your landing points, also the problem gets worse when you have a double height spiral with three access points. However the real killer is the old Building Regulations. these require different widths of tread for different uses. Without going into to it too deeply, you basically need at least a 1500mm diameter Klan spiral stair to serve a one bedroom loft conversion and a spiral stair of approx 2000mm in diameter to serve more than one room. So the chances are that the 1600mm maximum diameter of a Klan spiral stair will not be big enough for your lower stair and the 1500mm required for the upper stair will probably be larger than you were thinking of.
So if that does not put you off there is no technical reason why you cannot put say a 1200mm diameter Klan spiral stair on top of a 1600mm mm diameter Klan spiral stair.
If any of the above negative points are a problem you may still find a solution in a more expensive but more adaptable made-to-measure spiral stairs on the market.
As a final word do not under estimate the problems of a double height spiral staircase, as always talk to a man who knows before you go to far.
The Spiral Stair Doctor
This request is not uncommon, someone who wants to create an external balcony with a spiral staircase going down to the garden. Very nice indeed. In this case they are looking to use a cost effective kit spiral and are hoping to find a kit balcony to go with it.
The answer is no, the external spiral is no problem galvanised kit spiral stairs such as the Civik Zink spiral stair are easily available. The matching kit balcony is another matter. No manufacturer that I know of has ever produced one, and I can understand why. The size of the market is relatively small and the variation in peoples requirements as regards shape , type of structure that it is fixed to, position of access etc. are endless. There is no technical reason why someone cannot produce a modular kit balcony system, but I can not imagine that the market will ever be large enough to be worth the research and development costs. However the old Stair Doctor was wrong once, so who knows someone may take a punt at it in the future.
External balconies really come into the realm of the bespoke manufacturer, a joinery based firm if it is to be made of wood, and a steel fabricator if it is metal. You can easily include a Civik Zink spiral stair in with the design, and this would almost certainly save money over having one made by the bespoke balcony manufacturer.
A word of warning, external balconies on domestic properties will almost certainly need Planning permission and the spiral staircase plus balcony will need to meet the Building Regulations. Personally I would seek advice at the design stage from both your Local Planning department and Building Control, it could save endless tears at a later date.
The Staircase Doctor
I think the answer is no, or at least I have never heard of any kit spiral stair manufacturer who offers one.
As an old codger I have seen many changes of 'in vogue' woods. Once upon a time it was the reds of sapele, mahogany and iroko, followed by the knotty creams of the ubiquitous pine furniture and wall claddings. What goes round comes round, and after a quiet period oak is once again the must have fashion accessory. Having said that, oak has been in fashion again for a while now and like white bathroom suites must be on the cusp of retirement again in favour of probably pink bathrooms suites and mahogany furnitures and fittings. Do not laugh, people once said that flared trousers would never make a come back!
Oak is a wonderful joinery quality timber and is certainly suitable for staircases including spiral staircases. The big disadvantages are that there is not a lot of it, it is slow growing and expensive. Beech is the most common hardwood used by most staircase manufacturers for their standard modular ranges. I suspect that the cost of oak would be too prohibitive to consider offering it to the kit market. You can of course have a spiral stair made from oak or anything else for that matter, but I cannot see it making it into the cheaper modular kit stair market.
It is really a question of how much you want to spend on your spiral stair project, at 2011 rates you would need to spend around £1500 on say a 1500mm diameter kit spiral stair in beech, and probably at least double that on the equivalent oak made-to-measure spiral stair.
Do not right off beech for your own spiral stair, the manufacturers have chosen well. Beech is straight grained light coloured hardwood that is basically knot free and readily takes a stain so that you can achieve any shade that you want. In actual fact I think natural beech is not a bad match for the light oaks that are desirable these days. True you do not get the wonderful grains that oak is famous for, but you do not pay for it either. I am an odd ball I admit, but personally I can think of nothing more boring than having floors, furniture, kitchen cabinets and spiral stairs all in the same matching timber. Lighten up a little, save some money, and let some contrast into your home
With apologies to the questioner, the Stair Doctor has a hangover.
The Stair Doctor