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stairs, lifts, balconies & balustrades safer stairs start with better design,


specification and components In a market still under pressure to cut costs, staircases risk being treated as commodity  standards and earlier collaboration are essential to protect both performance and people says Think Timber...


A staircase is one of the most heavily used elements in any building. It is also one of the most visible. Too often, however, staircase specifications are being shaped around the price point suppliers are expected to hit, rather than the material quality, design integrity and safety requirements needed for a reliable long- term result. That approach creates risk. A recent study found that 43% of UK adults had experienced a slip, trip or fall on the stairs in the previous 12 months, with 60% of those incidents happening in their own home. The same research, alongside government-commissioned work on possible changes to Approved Document K, underlines the importance of safer design, better handrail provision and stronger attention to step dimensions and usability. For Gavin Brown, Managing Director at


Think Timber, the issue starts early in the process. “We’re seeing an influx of poor quality and sometimes unsafe materials coming into the UK market as a result of increasing pressure to reduce price,” he says. “A staircase is a safety-critical component. It is also often one of the first things people see, so it carries both a functional and visual responsibility within the build. It should never be treated as a basic commodity purchase or something driven purely by cost.” That pressure is being felt right across the supply chain. Raw material and transport


costs have risen, while housebuilders and contractors are under increasing pressure to reduce prices. The result is a market where reputable manufacturers and suppliers are being squeezed, and where poor decisions made at procurement stage can quickly show up later as inconsistency, reduced performance or avoidable remedial work. One of the key problems is that staircase specifications are not always given the attention they deserve. In some cases, they are being handled by junior procurement teams without the technical understanding to assess whether a like- for-like substitution is really an equivalent. In others, the specification itself may be outdated or applied inconsistently across housing lots of the same brand. Think Timber points out it has even seen specifications that still reference endangered timber species, highlighting how sustainability criteria can also be compromised when documents are not reviewed properly. Material sourcing is also under greater scrutiny. UK timber regulations require businesses to take steps to ensure timber and timber products come from legal sources, and wider industry expectations around traceability and responsible


sourcing are only increasing. For specifiers and procurement teams, that means the cheapest option on paper may not represent the best long-term value, particularly if it introduces compliance, safety or reputational risks further down the line. Positively, it appears there is a more


constructive way forward. Think Timber believes the industry has real scope to improve quality and safety through earlier collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. Gavin Brown commented: “If the right people are brought into the conversation earlier and standards are treated more seriously, the industry has a real opportunity to improve both safety and overall quality.” Staircases should not be value-


engineered into weakness or specified by habit. They should be treated as what they are: safety-critical, highly visible and central to the performance of the wider build. If the industry wants fewer costly issues, better long-term results and greater confidence in what is being delivered, staircase specifications need to place much more emphasis on quality, design integrity and the fundamentals of safety, rather than price alone.


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