Spiral stairs a no-no?

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Running Chrissy
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Spiral stairs a no-no?

Post by Running Chrissy »

Hello everyone

This is my first post so please be gentle! I have been lurking for a few months as we edge closer to a purchase in Cornwall.

One of the properties we have been looking at online has a lot going for it but there is a spiral staircase from the ground floor to the upper floor. It's a modern metal one, looks nice to me but I wondered if it would put guests off?

Also I am aware it will make moving furniture very difficult! But the place is currently a Holiday Let so I am hoping that if it comes to it we would be able to make an offer for the contents.

Going down to take a look in a couple of weeks.

Thanks
Chrissy
zebedee
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Post by zebedee »

Welcome Chrissy,
Who will be your target market?

( Always the best starting point)
Running Chrissy
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Location: Cornwall

Post by Running Chrissy »

Thanks Zebedee, you are right. I think active families in the school holidays and walkers and boaty people at other times of the year. We plan to accept dogs.

The village where we are looking is very hilly so I think that anyone with mobility issues is unlikely to choose it. Few houses have parking right outside.
However I know from Visit Cornwall's research that the bulk of visitors to the county are older so I suppose that is what is giving me pause for thought. Plus the same questions arising at eventual resale.
Zingara
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Post by Zingara »

Presumably 'older' people (ie. those more likely to have mobility issues) live in the village, so can manage the hills, lack of parking proximity? I don't regard myself as (that) old, but have had some joint issues this year which have limited my flexibility...I wouldn't want to negotiate a spiral staircase several times a day, but I'm quite happy to walk up and down to our village.
Are you buying for yourself, as well as a holiday let? If so, would this be a long-term, 'retirement' perhaps, home for you?
As you say, you may be limiting not only your holiday market, but your resale and long-term use...
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PW in Polemi
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Post by PW in Polemi »

Welcome to LMH, Chrissy. As you have already discovered,there is a wealth of useful information on here.

I presume the staircase has enclosed treads to prevent little children falling through.... and is there a hand rail on both sides? Is the staircase wide enough and the curve shallow enough to enable easy hoovering, carrying of suitcases, toddlers, bundles of bed linen on changeover day, etc up and down stairs.

Think of your target market, as Zebedee says. If older, imagine a granny negotiating those stairs, armed with a suitcase or a tray with the morning cuppa. If you're aiming at young families, think of piles of baby equipment (travel cots/buggies/bags of nappies, etc etc) and how often tiny tots need to be carried.

If this property purchase is purely as an investment, then your purchase criteria will be somewhat different than if you will be using the property yourself, either now or later on. Whichever, you will need to remove your rose tinted spectacles and look carefully for any problems, actual or perceived, current or future.

Oh, and just because the property is currently a holiday let, does not mean it is a successful holiday let! :shock: Why is it for sale? Maybe that staircase put off a lot of potential guests.

And you don't have to be elderly to not be fond of spiral staircases (or indeed, any staircases at all). I'm not elderly, I'm not mobility disabled, but every so often my knee "goes" and I find it extremely difficult to get up or down any steps at all, never mind a whole staircase. And I certainly can't carry anything then, I need both hands for holding on so I don't fall if my knee gives way unexpectedly.
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Running Chrissy
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Post by Running Chrissy »

Brilliant! Thank you, Zingara and PW - this is exactly the kind of thing I needed to have pointed out. I knew the stairs were worrying me but I didn't know quite why. Just looked at the pics again and they are even open tread so your point about small children is pertinent. We even have fairly young kids ourselves - it's amazing how quickly you forget what it's like to be in the baby zone!

We did ask the holiday letting agent which currently has it on their books if the stairs were an issue for guests and she said not - but then that could be down to people being put off at the booking stage.

We are looking for an investment and use by ourselves. I thought I had ditched the rose tinted spectacles but maybe I've just moved them further down my nose! :-D
kg1
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Post by kg1 »

Hi Welcome - personally for me a spiral would be a no no. As a guest I would be concerned about getting suitcases etc. up them & as an owner I would be concerned about replacing beds, carpets etc. also lugging a vacuum cleaner up if there is nowhere to store a 2nd one upstairs. I would look elsewhere myself. Good luck.
lester1meg
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Post by lester1meg »

Friends of ours have a house with a spiral stair case in their guest apartment. I'm able bodied but hate it because I can see through between the treads. It's near impossible to get a small roller case up and they keep a second vacuum in the room to save getting it up and down.
I often rent houses out of season with my elderly parents, a spiral staircase would be a complete no no.
Running Chrissy
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Post by Running Chrissy »

Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to reply and I am convinced.
Sigh, all the places we see seem to have a "but" element - eg the only bathroom is off a bedroom, the outside space is not attached to the house etc etc. Oh well, will keep looking!
Norfolk Canary
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Post by Norfolk Canary »

If it is the main stair in the house it should have a clear width of tread of 800mm (from inside of handrail to central column) and it should have no gaps anywhere that would allow a 100mm diameter sphere to pass through.
Kaz D
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Post by Kaz D »

I hate spiral staircases - they make me feel dizzy!
e-richard
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Post by e-richard »

As a committed and inexcusable nerd, I apologise to all who contribute here, but I'm afraid there is no such thing as a spiral staircase.
In fact its impossible - as a spiral has zero height.

What we're really discussing is a helical staircase, but nobody ever calls it that. :oops: :wink:

viz:


Image
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Norfolk Canary
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Post by Norfolk Canary »

e-richard wrote:As a committed and inexcusable nerd, I apologise to all who contribute here, but I'm afraid there is no such thing as a spiral staircase.
In fact its impossible - as a spiral has zero height.

What we're really discussing is a helical staircase, but nobody ever calls it that. :oops: :wink:

viz:


Image
You are of course correct with the true descriptions. In the World of staircases, what we are discussing is always known as a spiral staircases. Helical staircases are 'a thing' but do not have a central column, rather they have structural strings on both sides of the tread.
Running Chrissy
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Location: Cornwall

Post by Running Chrissy »

So we did go to view the house with the spiral / helical :wink: staircase. It would definitely have had to come out... and there was a host of other things that would need doing too so we have decided against.

It's a pity because it was a house with lovely light and the first to give me "the feeling". But head over heart says there's no way we can afford and manage that level of building work remotely.

So we are about to put an offer in on another property we viewed the same weekend which still requires a bit of doing up but not the major works that spiral stairs house would have done.

Wish us luck!
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