Joinery manufacturer JELD-WEN has been working in partnership with Bovis Homes to demonstrate that timber stairs provide an aesthetic solution for apartment developments, as well as meeting Building Regulation requirements.
Bovis had been keen to use timber stairs in its medium rise apartments in order to create a warmer, less institutionalised feel and also wanted to trial different installation methods.
Trials using JELD-WEN’s Part M-compliant fire protected common flight specification staircases were carried out at three Bovis Homes’ developments where the design called for either two or three flights over three or four storeys.
The housebuilder found the most efficient way to install the stairs was to crane them in before the roof trusses were positioned. JELD-WEN supplied purpose made brackets to fix the staircase in positon.
“There should be significant cost savings from using timber stairs in our apartment developments,” said the company’s Michael Black. “Not just in the stairs themselves, but also in their assembly and in the need for less scaffolding.
“However, the true benefits are to the customer. Timber stairs avoid the institutionalised feel of other materials such as concrete and metalwork.”
