Modern Essentials - Modern Stairs

ABOVE: Glass topped with American black walnut handrails by Bisca (01439 771702)

Retired dentist Peter Morgan had always yearned for a really unusual modern house in which to spend his retirement. When he found a plot overlooking the sea on the south coast of Guernsey, where he had practised as a dentist, he chose a freeflowing modern design. The most striking feature of the oval-shaped house is a staircase comprising glass steps cantilevered out of a wall. There is a handrail fixed to the wall but not to the risers. The feature was only permitted under the building regulations because the section of house it leads to is a mezzanine used as a studio and work area and it is not classed as a habitable space.

"The steps make a wonderful talking point and were, we felt, not overly expensive - about £12,000 of a total £400,000 build which is not desperately expensive for Guernsey," says Peter.

The problem was finding somebody to manufacture it. Eventually Peter's architect, Andrew Dyke, found Sussex-based Ozone Glass, who took on the entire staircase contract. There are few companies who will do this, but in general the more established staircase companies will know of people capable of creating glass stairs. There is a surprising number of companies that specialise in contemporary staircases, but it is not always easy to find them.

Many self-builders are attracted to the idea of spirals, but they can be fraught with difficulties. "Usually the building regulations that surround them, not least the fire regulations, are very tight," says Oxford-based architect Adrian James. "Although I have incorporated spiral staircases in a number of domestic projects I often warn self-builders against them because of the complications. If they insist, I usually recommend they go to a specialist company because they generally know all about what a spiral can achieve and are also familiar with the building regulations."

Despite this it is easy to see why spirals are so fashionable. There are some very attractive styles of off-the-peg versions around, though you are likely to have to pay more for the ones made of cast stone than those with steps made from steel or aluminium.

If the centreposts of spiral stairs are removed altogether, the flight becomes a helical stair. This is what fashion shop chain head, Alan Wood, has commissioned for his new home in Dorset.

"Whilst you can get a single flight spiral staircase for upwards of £2,000, the very cheapest helical staircase will cost you an absolute minimum of £15,000," says Richard Butler of Cambridgeshire-based Crescent, whose company made Alans staircase from steel.

If all this is too exotic for you, it is still possible to do exciting things with timber. The main staircase in the strikingly contemporary house of Andrew Roberts in Nottinghamshire is made from steel, with oak treads and handrails. The helical stairs in Alan Wood's Dorset house also has wooden treads.

"Often timber is still the best bet," says Cardiff-based architect Chris Loyn, who recently constructed a spiral stair with a steel frame and wooden treads in a renovation of a big old Victorian house. "You can do all sorts of exciting things with timber, which may well be the best and most economical option for the self-builder."

With all staircases remember that it is the treads that are the big issue. The building regulations state that the distance between the risers should be no more than 100 mm. With spirals and other open tread stairs this can cause quite a problem and it is a reason why many architects like to fill in the gaps between the risers so that the front of the flight presents a single plane.

"This can still look very effective - and leave plenty of space beneath if a flight like this is cantilevered out of a wall: what I call a folded stair," says Chris Loyn. However, freestanding steps fixed to walls are only permitted in pretty exceptional circumstances, so do not be deceived by all the pretty pictures in the design books. They might well have been constructed without building regulations approval.

Further reading:

• All About Staircases
• Staircases: The Complete Design Guide
• A Guide to Internal Finishes