Single Helix Staircases

are you in ireland?

this crowd in monaghan does spirals:
http://www.staircases.ie/h/about.html
i know nothing about them mind.

i would have thought a good builder or general contractor could advise whether they were structurally sound without getting an architect in

that helix is just a bent ladder. seems very expensive for the product. the fact that the website has “architecture” in its name means the mark up can be unjustifiably hooj.

get a decent engineer who has experience in conservation. architects are crap at this stuff unless they’ve specialised. i recommend fourem, see em at http://www.fourem.ie. good lads.

if they cant help you i’m sure they’ll recommend someone else who can

Yeah a good engineer would do that for you as a nixer. Not even a days work in it.

Getting someone to fabricate the twisting section might be a bit harder but still reakon it would come in well under the €14K mark.

In my humble opinion as a former architect you’d want to weigh up the implications of breaking nearly every guidline in the building regs of stair construction with that spiral… is that going to be your main stairs?

personally i think those stair s look very nice and bugger the regulations. however there may be problems in certifying the building and in selling it off later. these are the thing u need to consider and an engineer should be able to considerably cheaper than that. good luck in that.

While we’re on the topic of small staircases…

I live in a top floor apartment with an attic. While there is a hatch opening into the attic, I’m not too keen about fitting one of those fold away ladder type of arrangements to it, as the hatch is just inside the front door, and ideally I’d like to have something permanent.

However just beside the front door is a hot press which measures about 1m x 2m which contains the hot water tank and storage. Is there any type of stairs which I could fit into such a small space?

The ceiling height is the standard 8ft, and I realise that moving the tank is not a small job.

not the prettiest thing in the world but functional and legal, and no doubt less than 14 grand.

the link is http://www.stira.ie/misterstep/

i know, stira, but they’ve expanded their product range and these might suit you a bit better. hope this is of some help

You know I wouldnt mind having one of those going up into my attic! Not terribly pretty but it isn’t awful either… It’s actually quite a nice little bit of engineering and ergonomics. However I’d assume that it would be completely illegal as the main access to the upper floor of a house – The building regs are pretty proscriptive when it comes to stairs…

Yeah,BTH, i kinda meant that for RichardC.

I’d love to see you try and explain how that stira ladder/stairs complies with part M 🙂

doesn’t have to in a private house.

yes. i know. my point is still valid though. it wouldnt comply. agree with me!!

OUTRAGED!!!!!!

Sorry even in a private house there are compliance issues. The “misstep” is allowed but only under certain restrictions in the building regulations. Of course you could ignore the regulations but I would hate to think what would happen if a visitor or guest in the house fell on a stairs that did not meet code.

ahhhhh! it would be a sticky point. as i said before if u were selling it on then it becomes an issue or renting as this case is but if it’s ur private house then strictly speaking it doesn’t have to comply with part m. kinda like they can’t make u put a downstairs w/c in but it’s part of the regulations

ooops forgot to say.. possibly it may be an issue with insurances companies looking for architect’s certs and all that and certainly be an issue with the bank mortgage wise if u were building it that way as no certs = no money.

Ah yes – homes and interiors come out to play while Paul’s away 🙂

I realise this is an old thread but……..

Alcoa (Architectural aluminium) stock/distribute a modular staircase in various shapes n sizes.
For the more discerning, Spiral Staircase Systems in the UK have been in the business for nearly 40 years, and have put staircases in arab palaces, HongKong banks, and Collins’s baracks museum, tho’ they are not particularly proud of that one..the architect insisted on unpainted steel…which promptly rusted, before they got the environment controlled.

I’ve bought baluster panels and forged iron from a Cork company named Talitech. http://www.talitech.com They also have spiral stairs. Good to deal with, they also took back and gave credit for what I over-ordered!
KB2