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Staircase upgrade - ...

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Staircase upgrade - ...

Postby RogerS » 26 Jan 2021, 18:17

I like this staircase. Chief Designer does not and as been waiting for me to refurbish it for a longtime. I think she sees it as a milestone. I see it as a millstone :lol:

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So first off, remove the metalwork

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Job done. Finished, dear :eusa-whistle:

I tried to suggest that we put in glass panels but she wasn't having any of it. Ramped and wreathed is what she's after. So. ...

I've got the book

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What could possibly go wrong ?

I gather Richard Burbidge is the Go-To Man for this sort of thing ;) :eusa-whistle:
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby AndyT » 26 Jan 2021, 19:26

Please sir, could you do it like this? You know you want to, really you do - you just need to find some decent quality oak...

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... and I am sure Mike G will help with the fiddly bits! ;)
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby RogerS » 26 Jan 2021, 19:32

Good idea. I could fix up a socially-distanced camp bed in the orangerie :D
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby AndyT » 26 Jan 2021, 19:41

:text-lol:

It would save you all that complicated handrail curve maths ...

Seriously though, if you are going to get your head and then your hands round making a proper curved handrail, I admire your attitude. I can see that the trade methods work and that many past craftsmen managed to understand them, but when I have tried reading books like that one my mind just goes a little bit numb and I notice a distraction that has to be dealt with instead. ;)
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Trevanion » 26 Jan 2021, 19:47

I've always wanted to make a proper spiral staircase but one never comes my way, something to do with the area not being posh enough or something :(

I've also got DiCristina's book... yeah... :lol:

You could do worse than look at Wayne Mavin's Instagram page for inspiration, he does a lot of top-notch wreathing and curved work out in Australia.

https://www.instagram.com/wayne_mavin/
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Tiresias » 26 Jan 2021, 20:08

Trevanion wrote:I've always wanted to make a proper spiral staircase but one never comes my way, something to do with the area not being posh enough or something :(


Don't talk nonsense ;) . We live halfway up a hill in an unfrequented bit of the Scottish Borders and have two spiral stairs. 67 steps from top to bottom.

All stone though. No timber at all. Something to do with the neighbours' propensity for trying to burn one's house down and stealing one's cattle. Which I believe has been known to happen in Wales too. Possibly without the cattle bit.
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Mike G » 26 Jan 2021, 20:16

AndyT wrote:Please sir, could you do it like this?......


:lol: Lovely. But you'd need to find out Roger's age, and assess how many of his remaining years he'd like to spend on this staircase. And how long his wife is prepared to tolerate the "I'm getting there" refrain when she asks when it'll be finished.
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby novocaine » 26 Jan 2021, 20:34

Clad it in plywood. If all the restoration shows ive ever watched are to have taught me anything its that when ever you remove clading from a stair case it reveals an amazing and quite frankly stunning work of art.

Not sure how long the cladding has to stay on for but id give it at least 10 years, which should give you enough time to finish your own projects.
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Andyp » 26 Jan 2021, 20:38

Or you could get Mike’s friend to turn some nice spindles and keep the existing handrail. Haven’t you got enough to do already?
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Lons » 26 Jan 2021, 21:44

Have you considered divorce Roger, it might be easier. ;)
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby RogerS » 26 Jan 2021, 23:24

LOL....I have a cunning plan

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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Cabinetman » 27 Jan 2021, 01:13

Well all I can say Roger is that you’ve got bigger ....... than I have, I would no more plan on making a new curved handrail then fly in the air, I could maybe see me doing it as a 3d lamination. Hmm There was a sculpture I always wanted to do like that.
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Steve Maskery » 27 Jan 2021, 05:27

What a great shame! That original is beautiful.
S
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Cncpaul » 27 Jan 2021, 08:49

Steve Maskery wrote:What a great shame! That original is beatiful.
S


I agree with Steve + removing the original will de-value the house considerably
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Trevanion » 27 Jan 2021, 09:07

Cncpaul wrote:
Steve Maskery wrote:What a great shame! That original is beatiful.
S


I agree with Steve + removing the original will de-value the house considerably


So long as Roger doesn't plan on selling the house the value of it is not particularly important, although I think there's really nothing special about that staircase at all, and it's more than likely not original to the house so any improvement over it is only really going to add value.

18 steps is a bit of an odd one though, are the risers as genuinely low as they look or is the floor-to-floor height deceptively high?
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby RogerS » 27 Jan 2021, 09:33

Cncpaul wrote:
Steve Maskery wrote:What a great shame! That original is beatiful.
S


I agree with Steve + removing the original will de-value the house considerably


Not at all because it's not original and it doesn't fit in with the rest of the house design features.
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby AndyT » 27 Jan 2021, 09:37

Staring at the pics a bit more, that pair of newel posts in the middle look clumsy. In my head, I can remove the one on the left, slide the taller one over into the space, and have both handrails meet on flats. Would that work? (Not with a lovely swooping curving handrail obviously, but if a lazier owner was looking for a quicker improvement.)
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Cncpaul » 27 Jan 2021, 10:19

The two newels at the 1/4 landing do look a bit of a dogs breakfast removing those will leave a gaping hole in the strings, treads and risers, when you reinstate the strings it would need to follow the curve of the handrail to look correct.

You could re-use the existing handrail and make matching wreaths.....
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Malc2098 » 27 Jan 2021, 10:25

And a monkey tail at the bottom!
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby RogerS » 27 Jan 2021, 10:51

Trevanion wrote:
Cncpaul wrote:
Steve Maskery wrote:What a great shame! That original is beatiful.
S


I agree with Steve + removing the original will de-value the house considerably


So long as Roger doesn't plan on selling the house the value of it is not particularly important, although I think there's really nothing special about that staircase at all, and it's more than likely not original to the house so any improvement over it is only really going to add value.

18 steps is a bit of an odd one though, are the risers as genuinely low as they look or is the floor-to-floor height deceptively high?


Spot on, Dan. As mentioned above, the staircase is not the original.

Sad story. Built in the mid-18th century, the house has an awful lot of history and one day I'll write a book ! But in the mid-1960's there was a debate as to where the dam in Northumberland would go. The house was bought by some London entrepreneurs along with a load of river frontage. Their idea being that, if their river got the nod then they'd be sitting on a tourist trap. It didn't get the nod and basically they walked away.

I have heard and read various stories as to how much work they did on the house in anticipation or how much was left to rot when they walked away from it. There is a lot of debate as to what actually happened to the house. (Note to self, must speak to any elderly locals as it would be of their time). The upshot is that all the period Georgian features were trashed and this was left in 1975-8 when it was renovated. What the then owners did was to try and make it look period but ended up with a pastiche. We decided that that was the wrong thing to do and so set about renovating the inside to be of a style that would appeal to more modern tastes while sitting inside a very elegant period external.

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The risers are 6", treads 56" wide. Floor to ceiling 5.5 metres.

Those newel posts will be cut off.
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby RogerS » 27 Jan 2021, 10:52

Cncpaul wrote:..... when you reinstate the strings it would need to follow the curve of the handrail to look correct.

........


...Never said it was going to be easy ;) :D
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Cncpaul » 27 Jan 2021, 11:06

Trevanion wrote:
Cncpaul wrote:
Steve Maskery wrote:What a great shame! That original is beatiful.
S


I agree with Steve + removing the original will de-value the house considerably


So long as Roger doesn't plan on selling the house the value of it is not particularly important, although I think there's really nothing special about that staircase at all, and it's more than likely not original to the house so any improvement over it is only really going to add value.

18 steps is a bit of an odd one though, are the risers as genuinely low as they look or is the floor-to-floor height deceptively high?


That wasn’t my point, the intention was to dissuade Mrs S of the downside to the alteration and reduce Rogers very long To-Do list.


l do not think it was made for the house when it was rebuilt but something that was possible acquired from a reclamation yard
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby RogerS » 27 Jan 2021, 11:53

Cncpaul wrote:.... when you reinstate the strings it would need to follow the curve of the handrail to look correct.........


That's exercising my mind as I'm keeping the strings and treads etc. The newel posts will go...apart from the bottom ..maybe the top..
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Mike G » 27 Jan 2021, 12:53

Then you won't have a sweeping curve, Roger. Your handrail has to follow the line of the strings.
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Re: Staircase upgrade

Postby Mike G » 27 Jan 2021, 12:56

RogerS wrote:......The risers are 6", treads 56" wide. Floor to ceiling 5.5 metres......


It's the finished floor to finished floor measurement that counts with a stair.
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