The Rich Natural Tones Of Hardwood Staircases Add Warmth, Distinction To Any Home

(HIT) - Are your stairs stylish? If not, take heart. You can start from scratch or make a few simple changes to create your own stairway to heaven.

"Stairs are very special places," says Mark English, a San Francisco architect. "They provide a great opportunity to enliven a space."

In a contemporary home they contrast with metal, plastic or glass. Not sure what species and finish you like? Check out the American Hardwood Information Center’s guide at http://www.hardwoodinfo.com.

	The elegant Red Oak staircase and entry featured above is the work of Marc Tirey, Cincinnati Stair, a custom wood staircase manufacturer in Loveland, Ohio.

Types of staircases

There are dozens of types of stairs, according to Scott Schuttner, a home builder and carpenter in Fairbanks, Alaska, and author of "For Pros/By Pros: Basic Stairbuilding."

The straight stair has the simplest design. It usually is easy to build but often difficult to find room for in a floor plan. "They’re long and skinny, so in a house with conventional 8-foot ceilings a straight case will be at least 10 feet long," Schuttner says. "Add to that landings at both ends, and you can see that a straight staircase takes up a lot of space."

A straight stair usually fits best against one wall. Adding a landing halfway down a straight run of stairs adds visual interest, but also eats up more floor space.

The L-shaped stair is versatile because it can be tucked into a corner without looking cramped, Schuttner says. For the equivalent rise, an L-shaped stairway actually needs a little more floor space than a straight stair. "But you don’t have to find one long, straight chunk of floor space, which is difficult in a small house," he says.

An L-shaped stair, also called a quarter-turn can be more appealing to the eye than a straight staircase.

It’s possible to turn an L-shape into a T-shape by building two flights of stairs from a common landing. This type of stair will not fit into a corner and can’t be considered space-saving, but it will maintain visual symmetry if you are trying to divide a room.

You may be able to give an existing staircase new life without replacing the entire thing. For a typical L-shaped staircase, replacing a metal balustrade system with hardwood handrails, balusters and posts would cost about $2,500, says Tom Myer, general manager of Staircase & Millwork Co., an Atlanta manufacturer of curved staircases.

His company sells oak, cherry, poplar and maple stair parts in a variety of styles including sleek contemporary, elaborately detailed traditional or simple colonial. Fluted, curved and twisted balusters in different designs can be mixed in the same staircase for a unique look. Stained treads and handrails paired with white painted risers, stringers and balusters are a popular choice. Hand-forged iron balusters can be combined with hardwood handrails for a Mediterranean feel.

If you have enough room, you could replace a straight staircase with a curved oak staircase for about $10,000, Myer says. If there’s not enough room for a curved staircase, the last five steps of a straight staircase can be flared out to add visual interest, he says.

For especially tight spaces, the spiral staircase is worth considering. This type of stairway, with treads attached to a center pole, takes about a third less space than a straight staircase, estimates Marc Tirey, owner of Cincinnati Stair, a custom wood staircase manufacturer in Loveland, Ohio. He has installed hardwood spiral staircases in libraries, game rooms and basements. "It’s a real conversation piece," Tirey says.

Safety is a big factor in the design of stair cases. Today, building codes address most of the issues. According to John Templer, former architecture professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and author of The Staircase: History and Theories, detailed studies of staircase safety have shown varying the height or spacing of steps will make any staircase dangerous. Single steps, most often near entrances or exits, also are likely to cause falls.

One note of caution

Consult a contractor or carpenter if you are considering making changes to your stairs. Most staircase work is best left to professionals familiar with local building codes.

Information for this article has been made available by courtesy of the American Hardwood Information Center at http://www.hardwoodinfo.com.

Courtesy: Home Improvement News and Information Center