Top 6 Outstanding Oak Staircase Considerations

The Location of your Oak Staircase

Most oak staircases are situated within the hallway of your home.  The location within the hallway can depend on the available space, height and design required.

Larger spaces have the benefit of viewing the staircase from both sides and in some instances, walling underneath it.  Most staircases are installed against one or more walls, either a straight run or into a left- or right-hand corner.

Doorways and Entrances

Other considerations would be location of your front door and how its opens into the hallway. Think about how the staircase attaches to the first-floor landing and where this is in relation to the bedroom areas.

The design of your oak staircase can incorporate many different components. Each of these can be tailor made to ensure the overall appearance ties in with the desired look.

Landing Areas

A large design factor is whether your oak staircase requires a quarter or half landing. This is an area at some points on the stairs where a left or right turn is required. A 90 degree turn is called a quarter landing and a 180 degree turn is called a half landing. These landings can be a flat area or design to incorporate kite winding stairs. See image.

Oak Staircase Balustrading

Another key design feature is the balustrading.  A traditional option is to have spindles or a more contemporary design would be to include toughened glass.  Spindles can be simple or turned and available in a number thickness depending on the size and overall design of the staircase.

Glass is always toughened and can be using on the staircase and landing area to suit.  These glazing units can be situation within a froove in the handrail and base rail giving a more streamlined appearance or set in place using glass clamps with a small perimeter between the oak and glass panel.

Considering Carpet?

Your oak staircase doesn’t always need to be entirely manufactured from oak.  The decision would be whether you require carpet on the treads and risers.  Advantages of carpeting the staircase can include noise reduction and slip reduction.  Disadvantages of carpeting could include extra costs combined with greater wear and tear.

Storage In Your Oak Staircase

Storage considerations can include under the staircase cupboards and sometime shelving to use the odd space created underneath.  Making use of this space can add to the character and design.

Lighting can definitely light up the staircase in more ways than one.  LED lights in the stringboards and hidden lighting underneath can make the staircase feel special and inviting.  

Staircase Regulations

Staircase regulations can be found here.

Some of the of main regulations include the pitch or steepness of the staircase.  A maximum of 42 degrees is permitted.  There are other areas that need addressing including the maximum height of a riser and recommendations on minimum widths.  Another important regulation, for safety reasons, is that you shouldn’t be able to pass a 100mm spherical object through any part of the staircase.  This includes an ‘open tread’ staircase, spindles and glazing units.  Finally, head space is also a critical regulation meaning a clear head height of 2000mm is required at the start, during and end of the staircase journey.

For more advice on oak staircases or if you are in the throes of looking for help with design and the regulations that need to be adhered to, please get in touch with us at Oak By Design.  Part of our service is to provide initial drawings and 3D images to give you a better idea of what your oak staircase will actually look like.