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An important change to consider when thinking about the staircase up to the loft conversion is that there is no longer a minimum floor to ceiling height.
The building regulations suggests a minimum headroom of two meters be maintained on both stairs and landings.
When planning a loft conversion the building regulations state that when it isn’t possible to achieve the two meter clearance than a reduced headroom is acceptable with 1.9 meters to the centreline of the stairs though there could well be a minimum of 1.8 meters on one side. Another thing to remember is that a landing must be provided at both the top and bottom of the flight of stairs with the landings needing to at least as wide as the flight.
Getting the staircase right is a crucial component of a loft conversion but that includes not only the design but also the access to the stairs as well.
When thinking about a staircase the usual solution is a traditional straight up and down flight.
This kind of flight is both practical and inexpensive though those of a more artistic bend, and with lots more room, may opt for the visually impressive and much more expensive spiral staircase.
Access
Actually fitting in the attic stairs can be a real pain but you need to make the right decision.
You may find that there may have to be a trade off or compromise on your original ideas as, in the majority of cases, there is very little room in which to position the staircase on existing landings.
Because of the lack of room it may be necessary to use an existing second floor room for housing the stairs and making the conversion itself larger or even into two rooms.
For more info see the related pages below
A Spiral Staircase
Making Attic Stairs
A Traditional Staircase
Loft Conversion Guide