This job was a bit of a challenge right from the start. By the time I was called in, the stairwell had already been formed, and the walls were up.

A construction area with exposed walls, a workbench holding tools and supplies, and visible wiring under a partially finished ceiling.

Normally, this isn’t too big of an issue, but on this particular project, the space left for the staircase posed a problem. The customer wanted a 3-winder staircase with deeper treads, but the bulkhead in the stairwell meant I couldn’t achieve the 2 metres of headroom required to meet building regulations.

To make things trickier, this staircase was leading into a basement, and the walls had been tanked to protect against damp. Fixing the staircase directly to the tanking wasn’t an option, as it would compromise the waterproofing.

A wooden staircase under construction, with unfinished walls, exposed wiring, a ladder, and a vacuum on a dusty floor nearby.

After assessing the situation, I came up with a solution. I reduced the tread depth to the minimum allowed and adjusted the design to a 2-winder staircase instead. This gave me just enough headroom to meet regulations. To address the tanking issue, I built a stud wall in front of it, allowing me to securely fix the staircase without interfering with the waterproofing.

A modern staircase with wooden banisters, white steps, built-in storage, and a nearby worktop under bright ceiling lights.

A couple of weeks later, after the plastering was finished and decorating had begun, I returned to fit the balustrading. We matched the handrail and spindles to the balustrading in the rest of the house for a seamless look.

In the end, the customers were really pleased with the result, and it was rewarding to see everything come together despite the initial hurdles.