Straight Staircase

A straight staircase is as the name suggest, a staircase that doesn’t change in direction. This can be a full staircase going between floors, or on a quarter or half landing staircase where the individual sections of the staircase are made up of straight flights, which interconnect at the landings.

A straight flight of staircase is one of the most common designs of staircase and, if the space allows, probably the best design as it is the easiest to navigate safely and is usually the most cost effective.

At Edwards & Hampson we sell straight flights of which come at a variety of standard widths and heights that are available to deliver or collect at a 5 day lead time. Follow the link below to see out standard straight flights.

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Kite Winder Staircase

A kite winder staircase is one of the most useful designs of staircase as it allows for both a change of elevation as well as a change of direction within the same foot print. This is done by using winding steps that turn over 90° with the centre step of the unusual three being a “kite” shape.

Kite winder staircases come in a variety of different designs with the usual being a three step winder, but other variations allowable for building regulations coming in two and four step variations. A kite winder staircase can also have multiple kite winder sets with double or triple kite winder staircases being frequent where space is tight.

Kite winding staircases are common in situations such as loft conversions where space is tight and you need to fit a staircase into a space where it wasn’t originally intended. A lot of new build properties also use kite winder staircases, allowing for more space in the rest of the house with the stairwell having a smaller footprint than it would usually.

Quarter Landing Staircases

Quarter landing staircases are a design of staircase which features a 90° change of direction along a flat landing. These are a common flight of stairs and are in essence just two straight flights which meet at right angles with a quarter landing.

These staircases are useful when designing a staircase in a squarer stairwell where you haven’t got the length for a straight flight of stairs. Quarter landings can be at any junction of the staircase and can even be at the very top and bottom, which can be useful for when a staircase is finishing against a wall and there isnt sufficient space to get to the bottom and turn.

Similar to winder staircases, quarter landing staircases can have multiple instances in one staircase with two or three quarter landings. There can also be Z shaped staircases where a staircase can turn one way and then another. It is also a common feature in commercial settings where the landing breaks are required when a staircase is over 16 risers high.

Half Landing Staircase

Half landing staircases, similar to quarter landing staircases are landing breaks within one flight of stairs, but a half landing turns over 180° as opposed to 90°. This means that you turn back on yourself and begin to travel in the opposite direction.

Half landing staircases are common in square stairwells and are common orientations in stair building. Half landing staircases, if inclusive of balustrade and where space is tight, can have a larger newel post in the middle that is often double the size of a standard newel post. This allows for balustrade to run into one section and return out the opposite direction from the same newel post.

Half landing staircases are a usual feature in commercial stairwells and are common in large commercial buildings such as apartments, hospitals etc as they operate in a shaft returning continually back on itself.

T Shaped Staircase

T shaped staircase are a unique style of staircase and are usual common in large open hallways where there is enough space to go in two directions that lead into a large square landing area. This design of staircase is usually a luxury as opposed to a necessity but the deism does allow for the added utility of accessing different sections of the hallway from the staircase.

Most examples of T shaped staircase are of a traditional or colonial nature, usually with cut stringers being common due to the returns on the staircase highlighting the open treads.

One usage of a T shaped staircase than is purely for utility is in extensions or renovation work. When a two story extension is built, access into the new hallway or rooms can be a difficult transition. When there is already a quarter landing staircase present, the existing staircase is replaced with a T shaped staircase when one side enters into the extension. it can be quite common in this design for one of the arms of the T to be at a different height than the other to allow for different floor levels.