Loft access: spiral or space saver stairs

[Aquifolium]

Hi, we are having a loft room done, and are deciding about stairs. Our builder says there is not enough space for a proper staircase, and to consider a spiral staircase.
We are fine with this, except the stairs will not be in a open space(walls on 3 sides) so the banisters and circle shape will be adding restrictions in for no ergonomic benefit.
I have seen some paddle style space saver stairs which look like they would fit.
My main question is; which stairs are going to be less awkward to carry stuff up and down?

I think that the space saver stairs will be easier once we have got the hang of which foot goes first. The spiral staircase would probably end up being narrower.

Has anyone got any experience of these types of stairs?

I like these stairs, they work with a square space which is more practical.
www.eestairs.co.uk/uk/36_1m2.htm

But they have a starting price of 2400 Euro.

They also wouldn’t quite fill the space which is 1.3mx 1.5m. Having 10cm of gap would annoy me.

10 cm gap

Could you divide the 10cmd into either side and add lights. Practical and useful.

LEDs would consume very little

www.stairplan.com/stair-plan-catalogues/SPACE-SAVING-STAIRCASES-LEFT-TURN1/html5forwebkit.html?page=0

These don’t seem to be achieving the height we need, which is 2.8m.
But give an idea how they work.

Yes, lighting will be very important so we will have a skylight immediately above and a fanlight above the door into the room next door. As well as an electric light of course.
The 1m2 stairs are completely beyond our budget. £1000 for something that suits the space really well was what I was thinking. You can get a spiral for £700.

Might be worth asking a joiner for a quote to do square spiral staircases? (Not sure what the real word is but like the ones you linked to!)

My mum had similar to the ee ones linked up thread, they were awful. But probably ne hard to pick up second hand on ebay. My preference would be solid wood with a full hand rail.

Someone once linked to a house they were looking at buying that had a space saver staircase and posters on here hated it. Is there really no way of having a proper staircase? Getting things up and down either of the options you've posted a link to is going to be a nightmare.

Could a joiner build you something like the one you have linked so that they are built into the wall rather than just floating from the central pillar? I think that would make them feel much more sturdy.

That said, spiral and spacesaving stairs seem to really put off buyers, so I'd only use them if there is really no other option.

How much up and down will you be doing? Is there a way of putting a handrail on the outside? If so, I’d think a spiral would be easier to whizz up and down. Carrying stuff will be a pain either way.

What will the room be used for?

Sorry, forgot to say, have used those space saver paddle stairs in a friend’s house and it felt a lot less safe than a spiral.

Thanks you for all your input.
We don’t intend to sell the house, so we will make decisions based on what will make it work for us as an individual family.

I will talk to the joiner and ask him how much it will cost to build something spiral/ square to fit the space; that would definitely be my preference.

I imagine the cost might be prohibitive.

The loft space will be an office and a spare bedroom, so quite a bit of traffic.

I stayed in someone’s house with paddle type stairs, and it felt odd the first few times, but after a few days I didn’t even think about it. Therefore I am considering it seriously.

The only way to get a proper staircase in is to lose half a single bedroom, which we need. This way we are losing a chunk of the bathroom, which is oversized. But only gives us 1.3x1.5 to achieve 2.8m of height.

Are you getting building regulations sign off for this loft conversion? If so should really have a proper staircase.

How are you going to get a bed, mattress and desk up there...?

If at all possible, go with a proper staircase - put it through the small bedroom if that's the only possibility, but have the under-stairs bit open so you don't lose any actual floor space in that bedroom. We did this, and had the bed under the stairs which meant the usable floor area remained the same.

Winey, no.

Titchy, that is exactly what I am puzzling over! A certain amount of stuff can be assembled up there, but it’s going to be tricky.

I can quite visualise what you are saying... have you got a sketch at all? I will try and post a sketch of the space we have

*can’t

Spiral staircases just look horrible in most locations. I wouldn’t put one in.

I think the paddle stairs would be fine for YOU as you'll soon get used to them.

I would worry about guests though, especially coming downstairs in the night to use the loo after a few drinks in the evening.

I nearly bought a cottage with paddles as the stairway to the 1st floor (which had the bedrooms and only bathroom). In the end I decided that I couldn't imagine my dad or my friends with younger kids coping with the stairs and I wanted them to be able to visit so it was a no go for me.

This is a sketch of the first floor

I agree, paddle/offset stairs are just about ok once you're used to them but I wouldn't want them for a guest bedroom.

Can you build above (what looks like) the existing stairwell? That's what we did.

Not thinking at all about future resale value seems a little shortsighted to me personally. Presumably you won't be able to live in a three story house with spiral stairs when you're 80...

I need, fair point. But this is just to give access to top floor, guests with mobility isssues can be accommodated on the ground floor, by shunting a university aged teenager upstairs if needed.

This is a family house for a large family in an area with a real lack that kind of housing, so we will make it work for us. If that means a spiral, then we will have to live with it!

Pcohle, I appreciate what you are saying, but that’s not our approach.

It would be great to get the stairs to Carry on up the stairwell, but all builders who have looked at it say the maths won’t addd up.

(It’s not that we haven’t thought about the future. We have plans, but that is not the point of this post! )

I prefer paddle over spiral. Paddle stairs you KNOW you have to be careful and treat them like a ladder. Spiral stairs are a slip off the narrow tread nightmare.

That eestairs company seems to be linked to a Dutch company. Scary stairs are pretty standard in the Netherlands, so I guess you might be paying a huge premium. You might be able to find another Dutch company doing the same thing without the premium