Fitting the feature staircases
You can spend pretty much anything you want on a staircase, from under £2,000 for a basic flight to well in excess of £30,000 on a totally bespoke design using top-end materials (we’re aiming for closer to £10,000). For some self builders, it might be more important to pump some budget into the kitchen. But we wanted to take the opportunity to make the most of our lightfilled vaulted hallway by prioritising this built-in architectural feature. So our goal was to achieve great bang for our buck with a wow-factor staircase that will set the tone for the feel and flow of the rest of our Education House’s interior look.
Developing the design
Working closely with Meinolf Kloepping, we went through a variety of design iterations for the main feature flight in the hallway. All manner of considerations come into play here, ranging from how the staircase will be supported through to the overall rise (height) and going (length) of both the overall flight and the individual treads (which must be uniform in order to satisfy Building Regulations).
Looks-wise, we were drawn to a contemporary floating design. Oak is a popular material choice for staircases in the UK, and at first it felt like the natural fit for the steps. But, as Meinolf pointed out, there are plenty of other fantastic woods that can look just as premium. He suggested we switch to ash to get the character, warmth and texture we want at a lower price tag. This kind of tweak just goes to show the value of bringing experienced advisors on board.
Initially we also liked the idea of running a glass balustrade all the way from the first floor landing down into the basement to maximise the flow of natural light. But the cost of that much toughened glass is pretty eye-watering – and at any rate, having two complementary but slightly different staircases felt like a better fit with our Education House remit.
Staircase spec
The hallway staircase features a contemporary floating design, bolted into the walls with two hidden steel support blades at the landings. We’ve gone for solid ash treads and risers here for maximum impact, along with that wow-factor structural glass balustrade.
There are 14 steps in total, including a quarter-turn landing. The steps have a slightly shallower rise than the basement flight (but the same going). One of the reasons for this is to minimise the amount of overlap with the ground floor window. Meinolf suggested incorporating two gentle winders at the foot of the flight; a subtle tweak that actually invites you up the stairs when you walk into the hall, and feels ergonomically better than ending up in a corner when you’re coming down.
The 13-step flight leading to the basement follows a similar theme, with finger-jointed ash for the treads and risers. Made up of dozens of smaller interlocking profiles, this option is slightly cheaper than solid wood and gives a different look. Another point of difference is that we’re using timber handrails, combined with thin steel spindles (to preserve the flow of light).
Building the flights
If you’re going to carpet or paint over a standard staircase, then you can install it relatively early on in your project and fit a little protective packing. That way, your trades don’t need to rely on ladders to get up and down. But if you’re spending money on a wow-factor design, then it’ll be installed right near the end of the project to minimise the risk of damage.
So, with that in mind, the Kloepping team are currently on site installing our flights. This isn’t their first visit: they’ve been along to measure up and do prep works on several occasions over the past couple of months. For instance, last month, Meinolf installed the profiles for the glass balustrade, fitted the steel support blades and drilled holes in the walls to accommodate the bolts. The hallway steps went in last week, with the glass balustrade still to come, and today’s main job at the house is installing the basement flight.
Accuracy is vital with a feature staircase: it not only needs to fit, but also conform to a raft of Building Regulations (for instance, for safety reasons there mustn’t be any gaps larger than 100mm). Meinolf’s schematics stretch to a full six pages per flight. They’re pretty complicated, too – much more so than the simple plans I worked with when I did my site carpentry qualifications (not to mention they’re in German)! That fact alone means I’m glad to have the reassurance of Kleopping’s full design and install service.
I can’t wait to see it all finished – and once the Education House opens to visitors, it’ll be a fantastic experience for self builders to see how our two feature flights compare.