Pitfalls to Avoid When Designing Staircases for Your Home
Posted on: 27 May 2019
Are you thinking of building your first home? That is a great move at a time when most people have to live with punitive rates of renting a house. Building your house grants you all the freedom you need when it comes to the design elements. You can customise everything to fit your personal needs. Specifically, it is important that you make it easy for your loved ones to move around. Proper design is necessary for ease of moving from one point to another, especially when multiple storeys are involved. In this piece, you will learn about the pitfalls you should avoid when building custom staircases in your home.
Narrow Staircases
Many homeowners opt for narrow staircases to reduce the cost of construction or reduce the space needed for these access mechanisms. This is not a wise move. Narrow staircases are uncomfortable for the occupants of the home. They also make things harder for you when you need to carry furniture and large electronics over the staircase. Additionally, improper staircase width poses a safety hazard in case of an accident or fire outbreak.
It is advisable to go for a minimum width of 1.2 metres of staircase width. Anything above this width works for a standard residential home.
Improper Tread
'Treading carefully' has never made more sense! You literally have to do it when designing the staircases in your home. The tread is the heart of the staircase. It is the surface on which you lay your feet every time you ascend or descend the stairs. A good tread should form an obtuse angle with the vertical section of the staircase referred to as the rise. An obtuse angle increases the width of the tread and offers enough surface for the feet of an average adult. A width ranging between 250 to 300 millimetres makes a good staircase tread.
If you opt for wooden treads, some of the best options at your disposal are poplar and beech hardwoods. Poplar paints well and it's easy to cut. Beech offers exceptional strength and durability.
Slippery Material
Slippery materials are a common cause of accidents on many staircases. When ascending or descending a set of stairs, people exert more pressure on the floor to propel their bodies effectively. This increases the chances of slipping and falling when there is minimal friction with the floor. Make sure that you choose non-slippery material such as chequered tiles for your staircases.
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