Under stairs storage

[LCarbury]

Has anyone had any guidance as to what is fire-safe to store under stairs? I've seen a lot of photos of understairs bookcases which look lovely but is this really OK? We've got all sorts of odds and ends under ours, old baby clothes boxed up, a spare chair, a rug ...

Do you have a fuse box under there? Is that what you're worried about? I would make sure you can access the fuse box at all times, but wouldn't worry to much about storing things near it, although I'm in no way an expert, so long as it's modern and doesn't need updating.

I have my freezer and my printer under mine .

We have whatever I can stuff under there - coats, cat box, tins of paint, packaging for recycling, yoga mat, step ladder...

I have a freezer and tumble dryer in mine-I prefer to call it the utility cupboard

We have our gas meter in ours and DH is always banging on about it being a fire hazard but I think he gets a bit carried away bless him.

It currently has our hoover, ironing board etc.

I dream of putting some proper shelves in there so I can con myself into thinking I have a utility room.

shotinfoot ours has the same as yours in terms of all the useful bits. It does go back quite a way but I can't really get at the back that easily.

My DH dreams of putting an old laptop in there to function as a server. Also power tools on shelves and perhaps there will be space for winter coats at the tallest point. I would like to have a wine rack in there but there is a central heating pipe running along the back so perhaps not ideal.

What I dream on having under the stairs www.deriba.co.uk/DeribaWebsite/understairs/understairs-1.html

Oh my word I have serious cupboard envy.

What do you think the ballpark for that sort of thing would be

It will be insanely expensive won't it!

I dread to think. We don't even have a house with stairs at the moment! But as soon as we move I'm calling in a local joiner and getting a quote. Seriously swoon worthy storage. Must not look at their offices

We got a joiner to create a simple bespoke storage area under our stairs that is just perfect for what we need. I love it - it is even nearly organised and I can store so much more than when it was just a normal cupboard. He came up with designs for us and then altered them after discussion and was really good at understanding the look and practicalities we were after and steering us when we were being daft. Fab job if you live near Birmingham.

that link is lush. Maybe one day!

I love it too and have bookmarked the link. Thank you for that LtheWife. Mine is full of junk at the moment but I long for organization

the stuff on that link is great! ours is just a dumping ground for the hoover, spare coats, baby bath, picnic blanket, left over paint, toolbox and whatever else doen't have a place i just shove it in there. would love one of those nicely organised under stairs areas.
you can get some under stairs shelve things from ikea though, maybe a cheaper (but not as nice) alternative

is there plasterboard "ceiling" fixed to the underside of the stairs? That will slow down fire penetration a bit, hopefully while your multiple smoke alarms wake you and you exit as rehearsed.

If it is bare timber it would burn rather quickly...

BTW oil paint, and rags used for cleaning up paint, oil or white spirit, are highly inflammable, and the rags can spontaneously combust (this is true, I have seen it) so rags should be wetted with water, tied in a plastic bag, and put in the bin.