A timber staircase is an opportunity to show off design and innovation, but the desire to create a centre-piece for the home should never compromise safety. A badly designed staircase presents real safety issues through the risk of injury and death from slips, trips and falls. At the BWF Stair Scheme, we show how safer stairs do not mean you have to compromise on design. Recently, Selfbuilder + Homemaker magazine approached our Technical Director, Kevin Underwood, to discuss the essential design characteristics of safer staircases. This discussion resulted in Kevin writing an article for the magazine on designing safer stairs.
In the article, Kevin explores the following five design characteristics that need to be taken into consideration before designing and installing a new staircase:
– Consistent rise
– Constant going
– Guarding
– Handrails
– Surface finish
Read the full article here to learn more about the five design characteristics.
In addition to design, to ensure safety, competent installation is needed. In recognition of this, we have produced an Installation Guide which is available to download free of charge. Click here to find out more.