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a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

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a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby tracerman » 22 Jan 2017, 20:04

I have been toying with the idea of a narrow staircase from a cupboard in a bedroom , to the loft space above . Having the discounted the other ideas , i.e. a small stair taking off from our landing , turning fairly immediately , and on up to the loft . This would involve lots of work , headaches , and breaking through the ceiling on the landing and various plasterboard work plus a door at the top of the new stairs .
Whereas , if I go from a little-used cupboard in the back bedroom to the loft , it would seem involve much less work and be cheaper . I shall be sticking to the standard 42 degrees angle , so with a rise of 2470 mm from bedroom floor to level of the chipboard flooring in the loft , at 42 degrees that would be a " going " of 2519 mm on a " 12-up " basis , all approx. at the moment . The cupboard internally is 600 mm wide so the stairs would be hemmed in neatly on both sides . I have never done a staircase before , so although I am thinking about routering-out the housings in the stringers etc , is there a template system available ? or should I just buy a ready-made stairs in which case where to go . Any advice welcome .
Steve
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby Mike G » 22 Jan 2017, 21:11

I'll neatly avoid answering your question by asking couple instead: Are you sure you have got room to manouevre a complete staircase into position? Also, do you have enough space at the bottom and top to make the stair work?
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby tracerman » 22 Jan 2017, 21:52

Mike - I shall be doing some accurate drawings soon so I hope any snags may emerge . The cupboard is 840 mm deep , this means that on the other side of the wall , in our main bedroom , I shall have to create a 42 degree plasterboard enclosure ( after installation ) approx. 600 + mm wide emerging in the bedroom about 800 mm off the floor , rising to the ceiling . I envisage carrying the staircase either into the back bedroom and feeding it in and up into the loft via the cupboard , or , feeding it through the hole in the front bedroom and then up into the loft via the hole I shall have made in the ceiling . I'm probably making this sound complicated but I think its fundamentally simple , at least in principal . Once I have done drawings , we shall be able to see how much head-height there will be at the top of the stairs in the loft space - this is probably what you were referring to ? . I appreciate that this would be crucial as regards keeping to the 42 degrees . My aim is to make the loft much more easily accessible as at the moment we faff about with a metal loft ladder through a hatchway .
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby 9fingers » 22 Jan 2017, 21:57

Something like this could be a novel solution

http://www.ana-white.com/2015/09/loft-s ... tairs-loft

I once stayed in cottage where stairs like this went to a pair of loft bedrooms.

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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby tracerman » 23 Jan 2017, 00:54

Bob - thanks for that , I've had a look at that idea but to be honest I prefer ordinary complete treads .

Mike - you have a good point about manouevering a complete staircase into position - on my rough dims the stair would be approx. 3600 mm long . Could be tricky as this is a small house . Possible solution , haul stairs up to front bedroom window and into bedroom on its side then pass through hole into back room , then raise to position against loft joist and secure . length of stair would just fit across room . Like most jobs it would all be in the preparation . Interesting pondering these points in the early stages though .
The crucial thing is that head-height in the loft , and what I will be attatching the top end to .
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby Pinch » 23 Jan 2017, 01:22

Post up some photos of the work area Steve. There are always uncomplicated solutions available which can be unnecessarily over analysed.
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby Mike Jordan » 13 Mar 2017, 21:18

Hi Steve
For a recent conversion job my solution to the access problem could only be solved by passing the ready made staircase parts through a first floor window and assembling the staircase before lowering it into place.I have also assembled a replacement staircase between two brick walls, cutting the treads and risers on site to ensure the best fit in width. The templates sold by trend and others are not worth their cost since you can make one from a piece of plywood in less than and hour. I have made scores of flights down the years and always used a home made template.
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby tracerman » 16 Mar 2017, 01:07

Mike and everybody who contributed - sorry for not replying sooner , we lost the broadband for a week . This flipping staircase idea has been bugging me for years because although the loft wont be used as accommodation it could nevertheless be better used for painting , winemaking and possible re-siting the computer so I keep returning to the idea . we shall be clearing much of the rubbish up there soon so then I can measure for head-height etc .
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby Mike Jordan » 16 Mar 2017, 20:03

Steve
Having previously said that the templates are not great value, I happened to see an advert for one today priced at a staggering 201 pounds!
A search of my old Photos has turned up a drawing of my template together with a sketch of a wedge cutting template for use on a circular saw.I have no idea how to post a picture on here but I will gladly email the pics to any email address if you decide to have a go at making a template.
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby Andyp » 16 Mar 2017, 20:55

Mike, there is a thread here that should help with adding images to your posts. If you get stuck or use a hosting site that is not shown in that thread we can usually sort things out.
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cheers
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Re: a narrow staircase from cupboard to loft

Postby Mike Jordan » 16 Mar 2017, 22:59

Thanks Andy, I'll see if I can work it out.
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