HOW YOUR STAIRS SHOULD LOOK:
A LOVELY EXAMPLE OF SAFE, DURABLE TIMBER STAIRS
stairway to heaven...?
Pauline Kelly, former president of the British Woodworking Federation, urges selfbuilders to follow standards for safety.
How much do you think about the stairs you use every day? Would you know what stairs to specify for your self build project, or even if it’s a suitable component to source from a low cost foreign retailer online? Stairs are not just an important internal archi-
tectural feature and design statement. They pro- vide a critical escape route for you and speedy access upstairs for rescue services in a crisis. The practicality and safety of your stair choice is often overlooked in favour of stairs that are simple to install and gentle on the budget. A recent flurry of news stories covering stair-
THIS STAIR DESIGN IS SIMPLY UNSUITABLE WITHIN THIS SPACE AND CANNOT MEET PART K AND BSI 395 REGULATIONS FOR HEADROOM
way accidents hit the headlines in 2011, bringing the issue to the attention of the British Woodworking Federation. Its investigations found that most architects and builders knew the previous British Standard for stairs was obsolete, but didn’t know what else to look for to make sure stairs are fit for purpose and occupants are safe from danger. Pauline Kelly, former president of the British
Woodworking Federation, decided to tackle this issue head on with the creation of the new BWF Stair Scheme. Pauline says: “Stair safety depends crucially
on the quality of design, specification and instal- lation. Our Stair Scheme helps tackle bad prac- tice, raise standards and improve safety. “Over the past few years we have received
a growing number of reports alerting us to problems in the stairs market, which undermine
58 selfbuilder & homemaker
www.sbhonline.eu
The practicality and safety of your stair choice is often overlooked
quality joiners and stair manufacturers. More importantly, it puts consumers at serious risk. “It is commonplace that the technical require-
ments for timber stairs are poorly understood by the marketplace, and as a result are often largely ignored. The fact that the British Standard is out of date doesn’t help matters. There is also no straightforward method for building control or other inspectors to verify that a stair has been manufactured correctly or that it complies with the relevant safety stan- dards and building regulations. This is what this scheme aims to change.” The BWF Stair Scheme was launched in
2010 and already has a good geographical spread of manufacturers and suppliers signed up to its standards. Every one of these companies has confirmed
formally that their stairs comply with the relevant standards for manufacture, have been tested to meet the relevant test standards or that they
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68