Retro clothing, retro music and even retro artwork. It’s quite a big thing at the moment and seems to add a touch of warm nostalgia to people’s rather stressed lives.
But it's not for everyone, particularly when it comes to houses and interior design. Retro has its own time limits and what's retro today is going to be old fashioned tomorrow. That's not a good idea for something as fundamental as your home, which is too valuable to need to be updated with every swing of the fashion pendulum.There are still probably hundreds of thousands of houses built in the 70s and 80s which still reflect that period in their interior design. You know what I mean – ranch railing on the staircase, formica kitchen units, or just lots of B R O W N!
But this also means that it offers you a blank canvas for bringing your home right up to date and give it some design integrity, some quality elements which will carry you and your home comfortably and stylishly well into the future.
Let’s look at the ranch rail staircase, which is probably the first design element that hits you as you walk into your 80s house. Quite often the staircase was pretty cheap construction, a result of the need to build homes on a massive and economical scale. But it also means that it is usually a simple and straight forward task to remove that staircase and replace it with something which will add real impact and build on the style and vibe that you are creating in your home.
So, it’s actually a great weekend project for you by using one of the DIY staircase kits available now in the UK. These staircases have been available for many decades throughout Europe and the UK and they are tried and tested, both in their design and manufacture. It’s just that the concept is a bit… well, a bit “out there” to many of us who imagined that their staircase would have to stay there forever. But most of these simple straight staircases (or with one or two turns in them) are usually just fixed to the edge of the upper floor and possibly with some fixings into an adjoining wall. So, they can also simply be unfixed and another staircase installed in their place.
The main areas to consider are:
- The finished floor to finished floor height. This will confirm the number of treads/risers you need. (The tread is the physical piece that you stand on. The riser is the gap between the treads and it can be filled in or open. For our modular staircases like the Stilo and the Vector, the last tread is one riser down from the upper floor. So you probably have 12 treads but 13 risers. See the diagram below.)
- The space you have on the ground floor for the staircase to take up. This is called the overall “going” of the staircase.
- The size of the opening in the ceiling. This makes sure that you have enough headroom as soon as you step on to the first tread at the bottom of the staircase and that you can fit all the treads that you need. Also check the width of the opening as this will dictate the overall width of the new staircase, bearing in mind that you need a minimum of 50mm around your handrail so that you don’t jam your knuckles against the edge of the upper floor as you walk up the staircase. (I wish I could have £1 for every time that I’ve caught my hand on a stairwell that was a bit too narrow and I hadn’t noticed when I was going upstairs!)
If you are simply replacing the existing staircase with another in the same format and size, then this should all be pretty straightforward. If you have any questions about this or need advice on replacing your staircase, you can always get in touch with us by phone or email. You’ll also find plenty of information on our Knowledge Centre pages which features installation guides and advice.
Installing one of our Stilo or Vector Modular staircases is a straightforward job and will usually take a couple of people 2 or 3 days to complete. Any careful DIYer, carpenter or tradesperson will have no problem installing these staircases – after all, they are designed for easy installation and the instructions take you through the process step by step (pardon the pun!). But don’t be tempted to take any short cuts, re-design the staircase or stray from the instructions!
So, how about it? This is your chance. A long weekend, kids at the grandparents… tools, polyfiller, stepladder, tea and biscuits, and time set aside to read and follow the instructions.
And what a transformation you’ll achieve!