Stairs & Staircases

Timber

Timber is wood that has been felled. Timber is used for all sorts of purposes, from wood pulp for paper production to furniture, structural materials, tools, toys, artworks, weapons and so on. The two main types of timber are softwoods and hardwoods, although many materials are actually engineered wood products today.

Hardwood is sourced from angiosperm trees,  which are usually produce flowers, are broad-leaved, mostly deciduous in temperate latitudes or evergreen in the tropics.

Softwoods come from conifer trees, which tend to be evergreen. There are about a hundred times as many hardwoods as softwoods, and yet softwoods are used in about 80% of the world’s timber production. The traditional centres of softwood production are in the Baltic region and North America.  The reason softwoods are used so extensively is that it is easy to work with. There are fewer cells in softwood trees and yet they grow longer than hardwoods, making them usually soft. Hardwoods on the other hand have a more complex structure with vessels that vary in size, shape of perforation plates and structure of cell wall. Common hardwoods include the oaks, beech, ash, maple and cherry.

Timber Balustrading

There are many balustrade styles in which timber can be used. These include horizontal timber slats, outlook balustrades, turned timber balustrades, square timber balustrades, and combination balustrades. Stairking’s horizontal timber balustrades use stainless steel handrail fixed over stainless steel uprights, and tightly spaced horizontal timber slats. The Outlook balustrade is configured with two vertical stainless steel balusters at each end of a section, with horizontal timber rails as balustrades and a timber handrail.

The turned timber balustrades can use a traditional or modern style, accompanied by different types of scrolls, newel posts, carved or plain handrails, closed or open cut strings. The combination balustrade combines a rectangular timber balustrade with a feature balustrade, such as a double twist and basket steel baluster.

Stair Design

Apart from considerations of headroom and stair width, stair pitch can also be tricky. A low riser height or a wide step does not necessarily make for a more comfortable stair. The tread is the part of the step that is stepped on, the depth is the measurement from the outer edge of the tread to the vertical portion between each tread, known as the riser. The width is measured between the left and right of the tread. The combination of riser height and going (width of step from nosing to nosing) is what makes for a comfortable step. It is important to get the ratios right, for example a 160mm rise with a 280mm going would be very comfortable, while a rise of 190mm and a going of 240mm would be walkable but quite steep. However a stair with a 280mm going and a 190 rise would not be walkable.

On that note, when ordering stair components it should be taken into consideration that the specification that you order is not the finished size. So, for instance, if you order a newel post at 100mm x 100mm, it will bought raw by the manufacturer at that size, but after it is machined it will lose 10%. Even if manufacturers nominate finished sizes, some tolerance should be allowed for.

Timber Stairs

Timber is a beautiful material for constructing staircases, and hardwoods are best. While not all hardwoods are necessarily harder than softwoods, the hardest hardwoods are much more so than any softwoods. Common hardwoods include oak, beech, ash, maple and cherry. More specialty hardwoods include holly and boxwood, while tropical hardwoods include teak, mahogany, ebony and lauan. The suitability of the hardwood to being used for stairs will depend on density, grain, pore siza, flexibility and growth pattern.

It should be kept in mind that since timber is a natural material, the colour will vary and total colour match will never be achieved. But it can be admired as part of the character of the overall product.