Home / Staircases / Lightwell staircases
Made-to-measure staircases
Lightwell staircases
A lightwell is there to bring daylight to a lower floor, so the stair into it should not block that light. Open steel treads and slim bar railings do the job without turning the well into a shaft.
Designed around the light
We use open grating treads and keep stringers and guarding as slim as the loads allow. Where the lightwell is narrow the stair can run along the wall with a landing at the corner, and we position it so the window below stays clear.
Railings at street level
The top of a lightwell is a fall from the pavement, so it needs guarding to 1100 mm with bars no more than 100 mm apart. We make those railings to match the stair, with a self-closing gate where the stair meets the path.
Approvals
Lightwell stairs on the street side of a house are often visible from the road, which can bring planning into it in a conservation area. We supply the drawings and have been through the process enough times to know what is accepted.
Questions we are asked about Lightwell staircases
Can the lightwell railings be decorative rather than plain bars?
Yes. Bar spacing has to meet the regulations but the pattern, finials and top rail are yours to choose, and we can match existing Victorian railings on a terrace.
Will a steel stair rust in a damp lightwell?
Not if it is galvanised. That is why we galvanise every lightwell stair before it leaves the workshop.
Also in Staircases
Related work
Same-day estimates
Have a drawing, a photo or a tender pack? We will price it today.
Email it, send it through the form, or ring the workshop in East Grinstead and talk it through with the person who will design it.