By Kendry Lee
As you progress through life, sometimes you’ll discover that your home no longer meets your lifestyle requirements. You may then find yourself in a position where you’re making a big decision with your family: Do we find a new home or renovate in the space we currently own?
With land and housing space being at more of premium, many people have found that if they want to renovate their home the only way to go is up. Understandably this would then require you to build a staircase in your house.
But where does one go to find someone who can build a staircase and are all staircases the same? It’s not like you can walk down to your local trade shop and simply buy one off the shelf. There are so many different styles, colours and intricate variations that are possible.
A Design Consultation is a Great First Step
To begin this adventure, you initially would need to engage the services of an architect and an expert builder. They would then evaluate your housing space and design the extension withing building regulations and to meet your specifications. During this design stage you can explore many types of ideas regarding the layout, which materials you’ll use and eventually the use of colours. Even little ideas like how you access the rooms where electrical and plumbing components need to go and how much light you want inside can become an involved process. It pays to bring in a professional in not only building design but also assessment such as the services offered at Archicentre Australia, who can guide you through this whole process, and give you a complete design assessment. Some of the things a design assessment will help you with include:
- What construction systems can I use to save money?
- How will local development controls affect design ideas?
- Can my existing home be made more sustainable?
- How long is the project duration likely to take?
- Is my budget enough to achieve what I want to do?
- How can I revise my brief (needs) to match my budget?
Another important consideration when it comes to renovating your home is ensuring that the new elements can work cohesively with the existing housing structure. For example, you wouldn’t use a stainless steel handrail in your stairwell if you owned a beautiful period style home. You would probably want to have something that is more keeping within the same style of your home.
Customising Your Staircase will Offer the Best Results
A staircase has numerous elements which we may not have even considered and can be the perfect feature that helps tie your newly renovated home together. Elements such as balusters, top rails, spindles and newels all can be personalised so that when combined create an alluring decorative handrail. Most of these components can be sourced through expert wood workers. Peter Lorimer of Traditional Turnings is one such expert, who can fabricate just about anything wooden using his skills as a wood turner, on a machine called a lathe. He can show you many examples of samples he has created, or help you design something completely unique. Alternatively, he can even match components which previously existed in your home to help blend the new extension with the existing home.
The type of wood used in your staircase is also important when considering a timber balustrade. There are so many species of hard and soft woods available for commercial use, so it’s very important that the materials have the right structural integrity as well as the style that you are going for. Are you looking to achieve a contrast in the woods used between a step and the railings or other elements?
If you’re still not sure just remember to talk to the experts and they should be able to guide you as to which wood is the right wood, and what will stand the test of time, giving your home the look and feel that you’ll love.
