Why spiral stairs suit London homes
London houses are tall and narrow, and every square metre costs a lot. A spiral staircase squeezes a lot of access into a small footprint. That is why we see them so often here:
- Basement to garden, linking a lower ground floor kitchen with the lightwell or garden above.
- Roof terraces, reached through a hatch or a small glazed box on the roof.
- Mezzanines and libraries, where a full straight stair would take over the room.
- Garden levels and rear extensions, where a raised ground floor meets the lawn.
- Restaurants, bars and hotels, where a forged spiral is a way up and a feature at the same time.
We design and make forged spiral and feature stairs for inside and outside. We work out each one with you and your engineer and forge it in our own workshop. Then our London team installs it.
Forged stairs versus kit stairs
Kit spiral stairs are easy to buy. They come in a few standard sizes and heights, with stock balusters and plain handrails. A kit can be fine for a loft. It rarely suits a period house or a carefully planned interior.
A forged spiral stair is made for its space. The room sets the width, the rise, the number of steps and where you step off at the top. The balustrade is designed to suit the house. Balusters can be twisted, collared or scrolled. The central post can carry forged detail. The handrail is shaped to follow the curve smoothly. Our craftsman brings 20 years of hand-forging experience to this work.
What sets a forged stair apart
- A handrail that flows in one smooth curve, instead of jumping between short straight pieces.
- Detail made by hand, like scrolls, leaves and collars, instead of stock parts.
- Proportions chosen for the room, so the stair is comfortable to use and looks right.
- Careful junctions at the top landing, the floor opening and the base.
Materials
Our stairs are mild steel, hand-forged wherever the design calls for decoration. True wrought iron is no longer made commercially and is mostly used for restoration now. If you have an old spiral stair, we can tell you whether it is better to repair it or to make a faithful copy.
Design and engineering
A spiral stair holds people up, so it is part of the structure of the building. Engineering comes into the design from day one.
Structural calculations
A structural engineer normally does the calculations. They cover the stair, the central post or curved frame, the landing and the fixings into floors and walls. We work with your engineer, or we can introduce one. We give them the measurements and details they need.
Most spiral stairs also need an opening in the floor above. Our team can form that opening and make good around it, working to the engineer’s design. You do not need a separate builder for that part.
Regulations
- Approved Document K is the government guidance on stairs, guarding and handrails in homes. It covers guarding heights and the 100mm rule, which means no gap should let a 100mm ball pass through.
- BS 5395-2 is the British Standard for spiral and helical stairs. It covers things like step size and how much usable width the stair has.
- Approved Document B is the fire safety guidance. It applies when the stair is part of an escape route, for example in a loft conversion.
- Building control approval is normally needed for a new staircase in a home.
We check these with your architect or building control at design stage. That way the stair meets the rules before anything is forged.
Planning
New outdoor stairs, raised terraces and roof terraces often need planning permission. That is especially true in conservation areas, where the council looks at views from the street and the privacy of neighbours. On a listed building you will usually need listed building consent too. That is permission from the council to change a protected building. Always check with your council first. We can provide drawings for any application.
Choosing a design
You can start from our craftsman’s design album and adapt a proven balustrade pattern to your stair. Or you can have a design drawn just for you. Either way we prepare CAD drawings, which are exact computer drawings to scale. They show the stair from above and from the side, the steps, the balustrade and the fixings. Nothing starts until you approve them.
Getting the size right
The most common complaint about spiral stairs is that they are too small to use comfortably. The width of the spiral matters more than anything else.
- A wider spiral gives wider, deeper steps where you actually walk. It is easier to climb and easier to carry things up.
- A narrow spiral saves space. It suits occasional use, such as a roof hatch or library gallery, better than daily use.
- Headroom has to be checked all the way round, not just at the top. Watch for floor beams and the edges of the ceiling opening.
- The step-off point at the top decides which way you face when you arrive. We set it to suit the room and the doors.
- The turning direction, clockwise or anticlockwise as you climb, decides which hand holds the outer rail. It also changes how the stair meets the floor below.
We plan all of this with you on a drawing before the design is fixed. Then we test it against the regulations and your engineer’s needs.
Feature stairs for restaurants and hotels
In restaurants, bars and hotels, a forged spiral stair often links the ground floor with a basement bar or a mezzanine. Here the stair is part of the interior design. It also has to take heavier use. The rules for buildings other than homes can be different from the guidance for houses. We work with the architect, interior designer and building control to agree widths, guarding and handrails. Then we design the ironwork to suit the scheme.
Treads
The steps, or treads, change how the stair looks, grips, sounds and lasts.
- Steel chequer plate has a raised pattern for grip. It is tough and good for outdoor stairs, basements and industrial interiors.
- Perforated or open mesh steel lets light through, and outside it lets rain drain away.
- Timber, often oak, brings warmth to indoor stairs and can match your floors and joinery.
- Stone gives weight and permanence and can match a hall floor or terrace paving. It needs support designed for its weight.
We can pair a forged steel frame with timber or stone treads from specialist joiners or masons, all planned through our design.
Balustrade options
The balustrade does most to set the character of a spiral stair.
- Single forged balusters, one per step, plain, twisted or collared.
- Scrolled infill with forged collars, following the curve.
- Leaf work, including hand-formed acanthus leaves, which can be gilded.
- Handrails in forged steel, brass, timber or leather, shaped to the curve.
Finishes
- Outdoor stairs are best protected with a zinc layer, from hot-dip galvanising or zinc spray. Primer and micaceous iron oxide paint, or powder coating, then go on top.
- Indoor stairs can be painted, powder coated, or waxed or lacquered to show the bare forged steel.
- Gold leaf can pick out leaves or collars on a feature stair.
How a job runs
- Visit. We look at the space, how the stair will be used and the look you want.
- Survey. We measure floor openings, levels and structure, and check how the stair can be brought in.
- Design and engineering. We prepare CAD drawings and work with your structural engineer.
- Approvals. These go through building control and, if needed, planning or listed building consent.
- Quote. We price the approved design, treads and finish.
- Forging and finishing. We make the stair in our own workshop, in sections planned for delivery.
- Fitting. Our London team assembles it, fixes it and finishes it on site.
Looking after your spiral stair
- Check outdoor stairs once a year, especially the treads, fixings and base.
- Touch up chips quickly to stop rust starting.
- Sweep leaves off outdoor treads, especially in autumn.
- Oil or lacquer timber treads as they need it.
- Check the fixings now and again, as you would with any part of the structure.
Request a quote
Need a stair up to a roof terrace, a link from basement to garden or a feature spiral for an interior? Request a quote through our short online form, or call us to arrange a visit.