The majority of semi detached homes in the UK have a very similar layout. A straight flight of approximately 13 rises with balustrade on one side and a short landing return. Since this staircase tends to be in the main living area of most homes, it is a feature that must be made the heart of the home. It is seen and ignored everyday, why not make people stop and stare! The Grocott family have this generic design that hasn’t changed since the house was built many years ago. Once the Grocott’s heard about the art of Staircase Renovation they gave First Step Designs Ltd a call for some specialist advice.
Since the Grocotts have children roaming the house they wanted a a safe yet attractive staircase. Keeping the staircase carpeted is a fair idea in these situations (even though we offer non slip treads), but that doesn’t mean we have to stop there, an increasingly popular choice in both new and renovated staircases is a feature Hardwood Step. It creates a beautiful contrast transition between the downstairs floor and staircase carpet. It is particularly difficult to match timbers e.g. flooring and staircase, as its a natural product. Timber can be a variety of shades and grain patterns, so instead of trying to match all finishes why not try a more Scandinavian approach and use different materials/finishes around the home? A feature step helps this transition come to life.
The choice that the Grocotts had always dreamed of was a glass balustrade. We offer a variety of glass finishes and fixing methods, but the chosen style was bracketed Low Iron glass. This type of balustrade allows light to flood the room and in smaller homes enhancing natural light is a must. Since the Grocott’s have large windows both at the bottom and the top of the flight, glass balustrade opens up the space and lights the entire home.
The sides of the staircase are known as the strings, we can change these to look like solid timber with a choice of cladding finishes. The string against the wall is commonly left to be painted white or to match the wall above. But the outer string that is most visible tends to be the chosen side to be clad in timber. Just this one side of cladding can give the illusion of a solid timber staircase. A simple process with an outstanding end result.
The Grocotts were not actually renovating the rest of their home but they knew the the staircase needed modernising. Our experienced installation teams are able to perform the vast majority of staircase renovations with minimal damage within 48 hours. Since this typical renovation only has two and half posts minimal damage would be caused, just a few touch ups from plaster and the home was as good as new. If you want no damage at all… why not try out exclusive newel cladding system?
The cost of this renovation:
£3070 +VAT