Bespoke Staircase Service
We enjoy new design challenges and take pride in creating beautiful bespoke staircases tailor-made to suit our client’s needs. With his new build nearing completion, Mr Faulkner had envisioned something unique for his new home in Porthmadog. Once our designers saw the space we knew that this would be one of our toughest design challenges to date.
Mr Faulkner was instantly drawn to our Spine Staircases and was looking for some expertise to bring his ideas to life. After receiving an indicative quotation, our designers were invited for a consultation to observe the unique space and discuss the design ideas.
This unique building featured a large open plan ground floor, adjacent to this was a large D-shaped stairwell, creating a curved back wall where the staircase was set to be moulded around. Curved walls are never perfectly round and it is usually suggested that they are built up to a staircase after installation. Embedded within this curved wall were three structural steel beams, the architect had positioned these as a structure to the home, but we were able to use these to form the structure of the staircase landing.
While Mr Faulkner knew he wanted a Spine staircase, he was not certain on the way the staircase should be positioned or what layout it should have. Our designers were bursting with ideas and immediately sat down and started sketching their ideas. Following the site visit our designers put together a concept of how the staircase would look. With such a unique space the designers had to embrace this. Curving the solid oak landing against the curved wall and combining it with curved glass panels to create the unique look Mr Faulkner was looking for.
Initially, the design made use of a supporting leg to the ground, but the designers used the steel structure embedded in the curved wall to create a structurally sound creation which would support the beautiful solid oak treads and frameless glass. Combining this with a white powder coat allowed the steel Spine to blend into the white walls surrounding it, giving the staircase a stunning floating effect.
Spine Staircase Design
Each of the solid oak treads and landing received a custom stain to compliment the unique colour used on the doors and architraves throughout the house. This was done to create a style consistency throughout the property, tying the interior together nicely.
Mr Faulkner had a vision of a frameless glass balustrade with no handrails, this is not a problem for us but it does require a confirmation from your building inspector prior to production (which was approved). Handrails do provide a comfort factor to the staircase, but visually frameless glass look very impressive.
Staircase Design, Survey and Manufacture
With the final design agreed upon, our team set to survey the space using the latest laser technology to scan the unique space. These scans link right to our specialist CAD software to help us design the staircase for production to the highest degree of accuracy. No scribing is required!
Steel Staircase Installation
Due to the complexity of the staircase, we decided that a two-stage fit would suit this project perfectly. In order to install the steelwork for this project, sections of plasterboard had to be removed to give us access to the hidden steel beams to which our structure would be fixed. The laser survey performed by the project manager was spot on and the steel structure connected with the three steel supports perfectly. A very satisfying moment for the design and survey team!
The two-stage fit allowed the plasterers to refill the holes in the plasterboard and make good to the walls surrounding the staircase. Once the decorating had been completed the second stage fix could get underway.
Each tread was custom stained solid oak and installed one by one onto the steel spine. Following the treads, it was the turn of the gigantic, solid oak half landing. Due to the enormous weight and size of the landing, it was split into three smaller parts(each weighing in at over 230kg!) to allow our fitting teams to install it. Once in position, these segments were joined together and fixed into position.
Once installed the fitters perform a quick quality check while cleaning the staircase leaving it in a finished and ready to use state. Designed and tailored to Mr Faulkner’s vision, the staircase has such a powerful impact on the space and has become the true focal point of the home.
We at First Step Designs love to challenge ourselves daily and Mr Faulkner certainly gave us a project we will never forget. Do you have an interesting space for a staircase? Or are you looking for a beautiful bespoke staircase? Our designers are ready to help you out, call us today!
Call the team on 01782 959300
or email us [email protected]