Spiral staircase

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Hello,We are thinking of putting in a spiral stair case(wood)from our living room up to our unfinished upstairs,and was wondering if anyone has one and can give me their opinion on how you like them compared to the traditional stairs.My main concern is getting furniture up them,I know some come as wide as 6'in diameter and the only thing that may be a problem moving up it would be the kids dressers since there will be only bedrooms and a small bath upstairs.I can build the typical type stairs but with the way this old farm house is situated I will need to push the top landing back in a room to get enough head clearance thus wasting alot of space upstairs and downstairs.Thanks much.Dave

-- Dave (duckthis1@maqs.net), January 04, 2002

Answers

Dave, I don't have a spiral staircase, but if the furniture is your only drawback, make sure you have a large enough window someplace upstairs you can lower and raise furniture out of. My sister lives in town in an old house with an enclosed staircase that goes through several bends. It was impossible to get a box spring mattress up the stairs but she was lucky enough to have a window that when removed, was just large enough to slide the mattress in on the diagonal from the porch roof. Sounds like a lot of work, but it's not something you'd do often, and you could have that NICE spiral staircase without worrying. :) Maybe you could have a small balcony off one of the upstairs bedrooms with a door, which would make it really easy.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), January 04, 2002.

Why not pulley the furniture up before you put in the staircase?

-- Sandie in Maine (peqbear@maine.rr.com), January 04, 2002.

we have a spiral staircase that the previous owners installed. it's black steel w/pretty mitered wood inlays on each step. each step is 30" wide from center pole to handrail.

we only move small items up and down it (small bookcase, stuffed chair etc..) since we have an exterior door that allows us to move the big stuff upstairs.

it's a neat addition to our small house, and the only caution i'd offer is to get used to walking on it a *lot* w/shoes or barefoot before you ever try it in socks. wiping out on a spiral staircase is a special experience i wouldn't recommend to anyone.

i've often thought of covering up the wood inlays on the stairs w/a grippier surface, but can't bring myself to do this since the overall appearance would be changed for the worse.

-- James Leitess (james@wireboard.com), January 04, 2002.


My mother in law has one and it is great!! It takes up about the same space as my husbands recliner!! They built a small landing with a door on one end of the house and that is how they get the big stuff up there and is also incase of fire, anyone up stairs can get outside. Anyway she now has a covered porch at her kitchen door since it is the landing for the upstairs. She loves it.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), January 04, 2002.

I would second the moving the furniture in before you do the staircase, or somehow secure the staircase but not permenantly, so you can remove it to move bigger items. We are thinking of installing one to our bottom apartment in the house. Right now, we have to go out side to get there. Sucks when it rains.

-- Wendy A (phillips-anteswe@pendleton.usmc.mil), January 04, 2002.


Hi, Dave, as a real estate agent, I've sold some homes with spiral staircases (black iron), and just want to say that they seem to be a definite drawback as far as resale goes - buyers seem to hate them.

The last home I sold with a spiral staircase also had a home-made elevator in it to move furniture upstairs! It started in a corner of the dining room (didn't take up too much space), and ended in a large closet upstairs. Seemed to do the job for things that wouldn't go up the stairs (although the new buyers said they were going to put in a regular staircase as soon as possible....)

Just my .02cents...

-- Bonnie (chilton@stateline-isp.com), January 04, 2002.


As a carpenter whom worked for a interior designer many years ago, we cured a problem with a tight space by installing 4 straight steps to start, then 5 tapered steps to reverse travel direction up to another 4 straight steps to the second floor. It was comfortable and worked. The tapered steps each advanced 30 degrees.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), January 04, 2002.

I sure wouldn't want to grow old in a house with a spiral staircase. Imagine the trouble you would have getting up and down it then. What about kids, or handicapped? Even if your young and in great shape, you might want to consider your guests.

-- Kevin (kevinmail@earthlink.net), January 04, 2002.

We have a wooden spiral staircase in our small cabin (under 900 sq. ft.) We have been able to move bureaus, mattresses (they bend) and most things because of the high ceiling height in that end of the house. The big bookcase had to be partially dismantled, and reassembled in place. We have carpet on the stairs to keep it from being slippery. Lots of dust and stuff falls down under this whole thing, one drawback.

As for difficulty in getting up and down, we hang on to the center post and to various bits of rail on the wall and freestanding part. I am sometimes creakety, but have never felt insecure.

My parents once had a house with a huge wooden circular staircase coming down into a long central wood floored room. I will never forget seeing the dog come running down, start scrabbling and spinning out, and slide the length of the whole downstairs room, thumping into the wall. Think twice about having uncarpeted stairs if you have pets to go up or down.

The other thing is that a baby could possibly fall through between the stairs. Just a thought.

-- seraphima (gardener@com.post), January 04, 2002.


We have one from the main level down to the daylight basement. Although I'm not fond of it, it works for the small space available. If we could, we'd replace it! Makes for a hard time just bringing a laundry basket up. Yes, we do the trick of leaning against the center pole as you wind your way up, no being able to use your hands. We also haul wood for the stove up this way. We've been able to get lumber up/down it if you have the room to drop it down the side of the stairs. Dogs hate it. They don't like being able to see through it. My little dog manages it fine, but older dogs who aren't trained on it young, never get the hang of it. I prefer our Norwegian stairs (very steep) to the spiral! Good luck!

-- Michelle in NM (naychurs_way@hotmail.com), January 06, 2002.


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