Here is the proof I promised from my earlier posts and comments that the boiler has finally been installed although not yet commissioned. In fairness the pipework looks pretty good.
This picture shows some of the work being done on the stairs. They were just supposed to replace some of the treads but subsequently decided to cover the stairs with a new MDF cover. This is a brilliant idea as it makes all the treads even (which they weren't before) and means that we don't have to spend ages trying to fashion wood to replace what was already there. This picture doesn't really show how good the lower, completed stairs look.
This picture shows some of the work being done on the stairs. They were just supposed to replace some of the treads but subsequently decided to cover the stairs with a new MDF cover. This is a brilliant idea as it makes all the treads even (which they weren't before) and means that we don't have to spend ages trying to fashion wood to replace what was already there. This picture doesn't really show how good the lower, completed stairs look.
They still seem to think they will be done bar the shouting by Friday 30th. I think it will be very tight but they are working over the weekend to get it done.
12 comments:
Isn't there meant to be an overhang where the step oversails the riser (the vertical bit). Will change the way that the carpet sits and will be harder to walk up I fear. It might be in the NHBC standards. Also, how does it work when you get to the top floor? Won't the last step be a different height? And the first one too? People quite often trip or stumble with non standard stair designs.
Sorry to be a little critical - wish I could be an annonymous poster for this post.
You are not being critical (except in a positive way). I don't think I described what was happening well enough in my post.
Basically the builders have sawn of the overhang on all the existing stairs which gives them a frame they can build a new stair on including the overhang. My picture only shows the unfinished stairs rather than the completed one further down.
You are quite right about different heights though. I am not sure what they are going to do about that. I didn't notice a problem on the first stair but there again I wasn't looking for it. Having said that the existing stairs were pretty uneven anyway.
I think I need to get some clarification on what they intend to do at the top and the bottom.
I thought that there was a requirement for all stairs to be the same too. I remember working in a place with an uneven bottom stair (less than the others). It was a nightmare - people were always jarring their legs. I would be really surprised if inconsistent stair heights were legal.
The definitive answer will be here: http://www.bsigroup.com/en/Shop/Publication-Detail/?pid=000000000030023671 - but it is rather expensive to download.
Section 2.4 on page 4 of http://www.dfpni.gov.uk/stairs.pdf does say that they all have to be the same. The is for Northern Ireland, but I bet it is the same here.
Make sure you insulate the pipes - you will save the purchaser a fortune (20%) on their gas bill. If you don't, at least leave them exposed so that they can do it.
Minor variations - maybe upto 5mm - will be fine. You could even up the steps by using different thin strips of harboard or laminate on the steps so that each step is closer in rise to the adjoining one. So rather than risers being "210, 190, 190, 190, 190" they might be "210, 205, 200, 195, 190"
Nice idea.
I haven't has a chance to speak to the builder yet but as they are half way through the stair project and have removed most of the overhangs I will need to come up with something.
Another solution may be to raise the half landing (it is very small) by the height of the overhang. That way the stairs on the main staircase will all be constant and the raisers to one bedroom and the main landing will be lower but consistent as well.
This seems a reasonable way of getting round the issues.
A half landing is an ideal way of dealing with the issue at the top. However at the bottom, without some adjustment, people will walk down getting use to the, for example, 190mm drop on each stair and then when they get to the bottom one they might stumble when they realise they have an extra 20mm to go. Hopefully you've not got a window at the bottom of the stairs....
It must also depend on the thickness of the MDF: If it is 6mm it is less of an issue than if it is 18mm. Of course, you had something done to the floor at the bottom - insulation or something? Maybe that has raised the floor up already by the same amount?
If it's only 6mm MDF then it's going to be very difficult to afix a new nosing and probably not worth taking off the original nosing
All these comments left me concerned so as the builder was working today I went round to take a proper look and measure as well.
I'll give an update later on.
Stairs Update
As I mentioned earlier I went round to the house today to have another look at the stairs. I was pleased I did as the builder was round there so we were able to have a chat about it all. Whilst it is not too late to do something about it, the stairs have been finished using the cladding discussed earlier and the first thing to say is that they look really really good.
They (the builders) had already considered some of the difficulties discussed on this blog and have already laid an additional piece of mdf (18mm) on the half landing so that sorts out the problem of the top step very elegantly.
The bottom step is higher than it was before but not so much as you would notice. The stairs are quite steep anyway and there is a degree of inconsistency in the risers anyway (I measured several of them) so the difference on the first one is not material. If necessary I could try and redress the balance by using a different thickness of underlay on the floor than on the stairs. This can make a difference by as much as 5mm.
Looks like you have a get out of jail card free! Full marks to the builder for being there on a Sunday.
Yes it does look like.
Thank you Stairer and Tim for all the comments and ideas on this and especially Stairer for bringing it up in first place.
Post a Comment