The new stairs are now complete! The glass was installed about 10 days ago and this has really brought it all together. There are two pieces of 10mm toughened glass installed as part of the balustrade. The glass is held in place with by grooves in the supporting woodwork. This not only simplifies the design, but also gives the illusion that it is one piece of glass and not two.
We have a spare back and a spare vertical divider that can be installed where the dog’s bed is currently installed. This means that if we no longer have a dog, or sell the house to someone who doesn’t have a dog, then the area for the dog’s bed can be configured as two cubby holes that match the others.
We are really pleased with the stairs and are delighted that, once again, we have been able to rely on local trades people to do an excellent job. The stairs were built by Huddersfield Joinery who also produced all of the hardwood windows for the property.
There are LED lights built into the wooden plinth and, at night, these come on if anyone walks into the hall or the upstairs landing. You can see these on in some of the earlier photos of the stairs – just scroll down. This is achieved using the PIRs for the burglar alarm with the lighting computer. I have a spare LED light and I am tempted to install one in the old road lantern on the bottom shelf in the stair bookcase.
We have still to install the “eyelid” lights that follow the line of the stairs. The wiring was installed behind the plasterboard in readiness for the lights. I just need to find some that will work well in this space.
The two pieces of glass are held by grooves that have been routed into the supporting posts. This simplifies the overall design as well as it making it look as if it is one piece of glass that goes up the stairs.
