An oak staircase to finish the refurbishment and extension of the cottage

A customer of Oak By Design for many years, Nigel contacted Joanne in July 2019. In the last phase of the restoration work on the family home in Derbyshire he required an oak staircase, along with oak beams and window cills.

Nigel's home is a cottage dating from the 1680's. Renovation work has been on going at the property since 2010 and the end was in sight!

The final stage was a two storey extension and he wanted the staircase for when all the work was complete. A temporary staircase, installed by the builders, was being used by them whilst finishing off the building work and by the family, and for moving furniture around.

The staircase required a 180° turn and had to fit within permitted height regulations. The initial drawings had 5 steps up to a double width landing area and then a 180° turn up further steps to the 2nd floor. Unfortunately, this didn't give enough head height, so the original landing area also needed to contain a number of steps too.

The staircase had 4 steps leading to a landing area, where there is a cupboard. A couple more steps onto a second landing area, which needed to access a living room. Then 4 more steps leading to the 2nd floor. The design was tricky but not impossible.

The staircase included the following component parts:

- the main areas of the oak staircase – the oak treads and the oak risers
- oak strings – the timber that the treads and risers fit between
- oak newels – the timbers which usually fit to the floor to hold all the stair parts in position. The handrail positioned between them.
- oak spindles – the upright timbers running up the sides of the stairs and on the landing area. These were 41mm x 41mm in size.
- oak handrail and base rail. The handrail is the timber used to hold onto, walking up the stairs, and the base rail is what the spindles sit into.

Nigel chose to have a stop chamfer finish to the newels and the spindles. This entailed a 45 degree chamfer running along the edges of the spindles but stopping just before the top and bottom areas. Flush newel caps give a crisp finish to them.

Living in a period property, the design needed to have a traditional feel to link the old and the new parts, but with some contemporary finishes.

With the design agreed, Nigel requested someone from Oak By Design measure up to confirm all the details.

By chance, Jamie was in the area in July and agreed to visit Nigel's home and check all the measurements. Everything agreed, the staircase went into production, being made in 3 sections to make for easier installation.

The joiners finished the staircase with Junckers Rustic Oil

Delivery of the staircase, along with oak ledge doors, and oak architrave, took place to Nigel's home in October 2019.

The joiners finished the staircase with Junckers Rustic Oil

His joiner completed the installation not long after the delivery and the results are just what Nigel wanted.

It was quite a complicated to confirm dimensions due to the location. Everyone relied on zoom meetings, emails and hand sketched drawings. The staircase now stands proud in the hallway complimenting all the orther oak work in the surrounding area. The finish of the staircase matches the oak doors and beams perfectly.

Should you require any oak staircase advice, please do not hesitate to get in touch.