RHS Limited
226-228 Holbrook Lane
This is a Doctor Who Tardis problem, how to get a quart into a pint pot. There are many types of Victorian terraces but the one I am regularly asked about consists of front and back rooms with two bedrooms above and possibly a single storey scullery extension out the back.The staircase goes across the width of the building between the front and back rooms, access to the back sitting room being under the stair landing. In my opinion this design shows just how good the old folk were at getting the best out of a small space. Fortunately they were not hampered by the modern requirement for unnecessary things like bathrooms or kitchens with dishwashers and microwaves.
So a great design for your great grandparents but a nightmare for access to that nice big unused loft space. Unfortunately I have never found a simple answer in providing a loft staircase to this type of property. If there was a simple answer it would have long ago been fashionable and would almost certainly have been adopted by the original Victorian designer. I am always amazed at the number of young people who come to me with the revolutionary idea that they have discovered of buying in a two bedroom terrace and simply making it a three bedroom by using the loft space. Believe me if it were that simple the whole street would already have three bedrooms.
The basic problem is that a loft staircase will require floorspace on the first floor and the only floorspace usually available is found by reducing one of the already small bedrooms. What about putting one stair over the other I hear you cry. That is a good solution but unfortunately access to the loft stair will still require a corridor making in one of the bedrooms to access the foot of the loft stair, so there is nothing to be gained in floor area.
So there is no easy solution and somewhere along the line it is going to cost you space in the existing bedrooms. You may be able to reduce that space by using a space saver stair like the Karina but it will still take up some space and will of course require approval by the Local Authority. A fairly common but expensive solution is to rip the entire room layout apart and end up with a through lounge and a new stair running front to back. You may also be able to convert that stair to a two storey spiral staircase to get access to your new loft room as well. However been warned that You will probably find that the diameter of spiral staircase required by the Regulation people may make this option too large to be workable in the narrow width of your terrace.
I am sorry that I cannot come up with a magic answer, believe me if I could I would be a very rich and happy old man.
The Staircase Doctor