Chiselled Stairs!

[kennyferg]

We live in a converted victorian villa. Recently we bought the flat upstairs from our own and our builders set about demolishing the dividing wall separating the two properties thus converting them back into 1 property.

The problem arose when the builders demolished the wall. It transpired that the previous builders who did the conversion back in the 1950's decided, in their wisdom, to chisel the bull noses off the end of each step on the first flight of stairs!

The second flight of stairs is still intact with cast iron ballusters and original handrail and we wanted to have new ballusters cast and set into the stone stairs on the 1st flight (we have the original handrail for the 1st flight) and so restore the staircase back to its former glory.

Essentially we want our bull noses back!!! We've had a few tradesmen look at the job of rebuilding the bull noses - lots of sharp intakes of breath, scratching of heads etc. but no-one has even come back with a price.

Can anyone help? I have photos of the stairs if that is of any help!


Mark[/b]

 

[biffvernon]

It's probably the sort of job where it's good to be local. I might do them if you are in my corner of Lincolnshire - but that's pretty unlikely as we don't have many Victorian villas round here. Certainly a picture would be helpful.

 

[Ian Bond]

The second flight of stairs is still intact with cast iron ballusters and original handrail and we wanted to have new ballusters cast and set into the stone stairs on the 1st flight

Mark[/b]

Are these damaged stairs constructed from separate stone treads and risers, with the stone treads shaped at the front?

If that's the case, were the bullnoses roughly hacked off, then a carpet fitted or something?

Ian

 

[biffvernon]

Oh, they're stone! Count me out then - I do wood, not the hard stuff.

 

[Ian Bond]

It's not clear whether they're wood or stone from the original post Biff, I think they may be stone but just wanted Mark to clarify!

Not sure if a plastic repair would be possible if they're stone - that's way out of my league.

So we need a thatcher for David and a stonemason (perhaps) for Mark, now!!

 

[kennyferg]

Yes, I'm afraid the stairs are stone and they are in quite a mess. We live outside Glasgow incidentally, so Lincolnshire is quite a trek away!

Ian - your question regarding separate stone treads etc - I think so is the answer. Looking at a cross section of the stair (which we can do cause someone hacked the ends off!!) it looks as though the steps may be in separate sections - i.e. stone riser, then stone tread set on top - you might have guessed I know nothing about these things!

Not sure how to attach images of the stairs, but happy to e-mail them out to anyone who might be able to help if they give me the e-mail address. I've got "pre" and "post hacking" pics to show how they should look, and how they do look.

My e-mail address is mark@dtechuk.com if anyone wants to get in touch direct.

Thanks for the help so far guys.

 

[Ian Bond]

Aaaaaaaaaaargh!

The bl**dy vandals - that sounds like a very elegant and well-made stair case.

Mine's made out of big rough lumps of stone.

The trouble with stairs is that any repairs have to be far more than cosmetic - a weak repair that breaks underfoot could be lethal. Also, cutting away parts of the steps to effect repairs could seriously weaken the structure.

Please have a read of this article, it discusses wear of nosings, and dangerous defects caused by inappropriate repair. The conclusion is of interest too.

http://www.ihbc.org.uk/context_archive/55/Cantilever_dir/Cantilever_s.htm

I found that article some months ago, when I was looking into the possibility of plastic stone repair (though not on a staircase).

Hope this helps.

You could try uploading your images to putfile
http://www.putfile.com/

You can then copy a link to the image into your post.

However, please try this out in the test forum first!!!

You have to register for putfile, but is is free. After you upload an image to putfile, a list of links are displayed next to the image: URL, BB and HTML. Press the copy button alongside BB and paste the copied link text directly into your post on the forum.
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