American ‘white’ Ash is mainly used for interior furniture and joinery, particularly where bending-strength is required. The colour of Ash boards will vary from a white appearance through to brown.
 
American Ash is imported in FAS grade in imperial thicknesses of sawn 1″, 1 ¼”, 1 ½”, 2″, 2 ½”, 3″ & 4″. Kiln dried imported packs normally contain random widths from 4″ to about 9″ and are in predominantly even lengths i.e. 8′, 10′, 12′ as this is the standard method of American hardwood production. Occasionally we are able to obtain other lengths up to 14′ long and also premium widths.
 
Please note; American grading rules allow width tolerances in the sawn sizes, e.g. 7″ width stock may vary from 6 5/8″ to 7 ½” yet still be charged as 7″. Therefore, we encourage customers to advise us of the minimum ‘planed finish’ width they want so that our tally staff can select accordingly.
 
We also stock Ash ‘tapered Pellets’ for covering screwheads when countersunk.
 

American White Oak (Quercus Alba) is distinct from Western Europe Oak (Quercus Robur & Petraea). It is generally produced from a smaller log and is less durable than the European variety. However it is very popular for interior joinery, furniture and kitchens. Thinner boards are price competitive but this may change for boards over 50mm thick. Grade mainly FAS but also #1cmn & btr in 1″ thick is often used by volume furniture producers.
 
Widths 4″- 9″, but 10″ & wider premium price bundles are also stocked. Lengths; mainly 8′, 10′, 12′ and some 14′.
 

Southern Pine grows in a vast band across the Southern United States, from East Texas to Virginia. In fact, it’s a rare county that doesn’t contain a representative of one of the four main species: shortleaf, longleaf, loblolly or slash. Lumber from all four is marketed as Southern Pine (or Southern Yellow Pine) and graded in accordance with the grading rules of the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB), approved by the American Lumber Standard Committee.

Market opportunities for Southern Pine lumber exist in residential, nonresidential and industrial applications. Major market areas are throughout the United States, as well as export markets in China, Europe, Japan, Mexico, and the Caribbean Basin.

The inherent characteristics that make Southern Pine such a desirable species for so many applications are:

• HIGH STRENGTH - Design values assigned for Southern Pine are among the highest for all softwoods. 
• SEASONING - Grademarked Southern Pine dimension lumber (2″ and less in thickness) must be dried to a maximum moisture content of 19%. This minimizes the shrinkage associated with “green lumber.” 
• NAIL HOLDING - The ability of Southern Pine to hold fasteners is among the highest of the softwoods. Drying enhances nail holding and reduces the tendency for “nail pop” associated with drywall construction. 
• DURABILITY - Southern Pine is highly resistant to wear; therefore, it is suitable for flooring, decks, patios, marinas, boardwalks and other high-traffic applications. 
• TREATABILITY - Southern Pine is also one of the easiest softwoods to pressure-treat with preservatives. As a result, treated Southern Pine is one of the largest segments of the Southern Pine market. 
• QUALITY - SPC members produce Southern Pine lumber to the highest quality standards, as contained in the SPIB grading rules. You can build on that! 

RISE
For a straight staircase measure your rise measurement first, this is the distance from the finished floor level where the staircase starts to the finished floor level on the upper floor where the staircase is going to. If your floors are slightly out of level the make sure you get your rise from the points where the staircase is going to sit.

GOING
Once you have your rise you can work out the going distance (Dimension G)for the stairs this is the distance the staircase will project along the floor, Check the Regs to see the correct going to suit your rise height when trying to achieve a 42 degree pitch.

WIDTH
If you are measuring a staircase for between walls make sure you measure the narrowest point and allow a clearance, this is OK if the staircase is assembled and the staircase can slide into place without having to be turned in the hole (between the walls) and is also OK if the staircase is ordered flatpack for assembly in situ between the walls, but if your staircase is going to need turning in between the walls you need to allow more clearance normally 75mm is OK but this needs checking before ordering, to work this out you need to draw a rectangle to scale (draw a rectangle the proposed width by 244mm which is the typical depth of the stair stringers we use and measure across the furthest points to check you can rotate the staircase)
The width is also important when it comes to your landing room at the top and the bottom as this needs to be equal or more than the width of the staircase.

The width of a standard domestic staircase is 860mm over all the strings, the minimum width we would recommend for a Loft staircase is 600mm over all the strings.

If you are measuring a staircase which is to have handrails to one side and it is quite tight to the well hole you need to think about finger room between the handrail and the side of your stairwell the minimum clearance we recommend is 40mm this would mean you need to allow 55mm clearance on you over all string measurement from the finished well size.

Step

The step is composed of the tread and riser.

• tread - The part of the stairway that is stepped on. It is constructed to the same specificationFacts About SpecificationIn engineering and manufacturing, the term specification has the following meanings: …

  s (thickness) as any other flooring. The tread “width” is measured from the outer edge of the step to the vertical “riser” between steps.

• riser - The vertical portion between each tread on the stair. This may be missing for an “open” stair effect.
• nosing - An edge part of the tread that protrudes over the riser beneath. If it is present, this means that horizontally, the total “run” length of the stairs is not simply the sum of the tread lengths, the treads actually overlap each other slightly
• starting step or bullnose - Where stairs are open on one or both sides, the first step above the lower floor may be wider than the other steps and rounded. The balusters typically form a semi-circle around the circumference of the rounded portion and the handrail has a horizontal spiral called a “volute” that supports the top of the balusters. Besides the cosmetic appeal, starting steps allow the balusters to form a wider, more stable base for the end of the handrail. Handrails that simply end at a post at the foot of the stairs can be less sturdy, even with a thick post. A double bullnose can be used when both sides of the stairs are open.
• winders - Winders are steps that are narrower on one side than the other. They are used to change the direction of the stairs without landings. A series of winders form a circular or spiral stairway. When three steps are used to turn a 90° corner, the middle step is called a kite winder due to its similarity to a diamond-shaped kiteKite A kite is a flying tethered man-made object….

  .

• stringer, stringer board or sometimes just string - The structural member that supports the treads and risers. There are typically two stringers, one on either side of the stairs; though the treads may be supported many other ways. The stringers are sometimes notched so that the risers and treads fit into them. Stringers on open-sided stairs are often open themselves so that the treads are visible from the side. Such stringers are called “cut” stringers. Stringers on a closed side of the stairs are closed, with the support for the treads routed into the stringer.
• trim - Trim (e.g. quarter-round or baseboardBaseboard Also see hydronics for baseboard heating, as opposed to forced-air….

   trim) is normally applied where walls meet floors and often underneath treads to hide the reveal where the tread and riser meet. Shoe moulding may be used between where the lower floor and the first riser meet. Trimming a starting step is a special challenge as the last riser above the lower floor is rounded. Today, special flexible, plastic trim is available for this purpose, however wooden mouldings are still used and are either cut from a single piece of rounded wood, or bent with laminations Scotia is concave moulding that is underneath the nosing between the riser and the tread above it.

The railing system

The balustrade is the complete system of railings and balusters that prevents people from falling over the edge.

• banister, railing or handrailHandrail Handrails
  • volute - A handrail for the bullnose step that is shaped like a spiral. Volutes may be right or left-handed depending on which side of the stairs they occur when facing up the stairs.
  • turnout - Instead of a complete spiral volute, a turnout is a quarter-turn rounded end to the handrail.
  • gooseneck - The vertical handrail that joins a sloped handrail to a higher handrail on the balcony or landing is a gooseneck.
  • rosette - Where the handrail ends in the wall and a half-newel is not used, it may be trimmed by a rosette.
  • easings - Wall handrails are mounted directly onto the wall with wall brackets. At the bottom of the stairs such railings flare to a horizontal railing and this horizontal portion is called a “starting easing”. At the top of the stairs, the horizontal portion of the railing is called a “over easing”.
  • core rail - Wood handrails often have a metal core to provide extra strength and stiffness, especially when the rail has to curve against the grain of the wood. The archaic term for the metal core is “core rail”.

  , banisters, or railings are in place in stairways to provide guidance….
  - The angled member for handholding, as distinguished from the vertical balusters which hold it up for stairs that are open on one side; there is often a railing on both sides, sometimes only on one side or not at all, on wide staircases there is sometimes also one in the middle, or even more. The term “banister” is sometimes used to mean just the handrail, or sometimes the handrail and the balusters or sometimes just the balusters (*).

• baluster - A term for the vertical balusters that hold the handrail. Sometimes simply called guards or spindles. Treads often require two balusters. The second baluster is closer to the riser and is taller than the first. The extra height in the second baluster is typically in the middle between decorative elements on the baluster. That way the bottom decorative elements are aligned with the tread and the top elements are aligned with the railing angle. However, this means the first and second balusters are manufactured separately and cannot be interchanged. Balusters without decorative elements can be interchanged.
• newelNewel  

  A joist, in architecture and engineering, is one of the horizontal supporting members that run from wall to wall, wall to be…

  A newel is the upright post about which the steps of a circular staircase wind….
  - A large baluster or post used to anchor the handrail. Since it is a structural element, it extends below the floor and subfloor to the bottom of the floor joistJoist s and is bolted right to the floor joist. A half-newel may be used where a railing ends in the wall. Visually, it looks like half the newel is embedded in the wall. For open landings, a newel may extend below the landing for a decorative newel drop.

• baserail or shoerail - For systems where the baluster does not start at the treads, they go to a baserail. This allows for identical balusters, avoiding the second baluster problem.
• fillet - A decorative filler piece on the floor between balusters on a balcony railing.

It is essential that the stair builder is able to replicate the desired result and should be able to showcase their work through the company’s website or a showroom. A reputable and experienced stair builder can advise customers on what styles of stairs and balustrades will enhance the proposed design or existing design of their house.

Current trends are returning to a simpler and cleaner design with straight sanitised lines. Stairs tend to have square instead of rounded nosings with treads butting up against walls without the use of the tradition wall stringer.

Treatment to the outside of the stair is square cut stringers without any of the traditional decorative work such as tread brackets and scotia moulds. In terms of balustrade, the move has been right away from decorative timber balusters to simple square balusters, usually of a smaller size such as 32mm x 32mm.

Stainless steel has become the ideal balustrade material. This may be in the form of vertical balusters, stainless steel wires with staunchions and in some cases, stainless steel handrail. Toughened glass as a balustrade component, used in conjunction with stainless steel and/or timber, can make up approximately ten percent of balustrade, despite the high costs.

Staircases perform many functions in a home. The staircase allows simple and economical access between floor levels or can make a statement that enhances the architectural style of a home. For example, contemporary glass balustrade designs allow for an openness that is in demand.

The influences at work when managing the spaces in and around the stairwell can be complex. As an example, designing the final layout of a feature staircase can create conflict between spaces in a dwelling.

Each space has a function, it maybe a narrow hallway, a doorway under the staircase or breathing space from the front door. Often a stairbuilder finds them the negotiator seeking a harmonious outcome that benefits all stakeholders and allows each space to function as it was intended.

Entry and exit points of a staircase must be will managed and need to take in account a dwellings heavy line of traffic. Small design adjustments here can significantly decrease the occupant’s travel distance.

While the modern trend is minimalistic in its style using glass, stainless steel, stainless steel wires and simple square timber components, there is nothing new in stair building styles and all these components have been used before.

Therefore, it is important that the style of stair compliments the interior of the home where the stair is located. This will minimise the risk of having a stair or balustrade that is out of kilter with the rest of the house.

Also the modern staircase must be able to marry these materials while considering the structural requirements and the stress and strains the particular staircase may be putting on to an existing or new structure.

It is important that builders, architects, designers and owners are clear on the product that the stair builder is to provide. Fortunately, modern technology provides these customers with a world of information through the internet.

New regulations on stairs

There are certain measurements that a staircase needs to conform to in order to meet building regulations.

Tread length

The minimum tread length is typically around nine inches. It’s notable that the majority of human feet are longer than this, so in effect the whole foot does not fit on the step where the minimum length is employed.

Maximum riser height

This is literally the difference in height between one step and the next. It’s normally around 8.25 inches. When this maximum is combined with the tread length minimum, a maximum incline is established. The steepness can be greater in residential properties than commercial or industrial ones and other public buildings.

In addition to this, there are specifications about how much each step can vary from the others. Regulations might specify that steps can vary by as little as 0.25 inches. The reasoning behind this is that people get used to a certain step height when climbing stairs and irregular steps can prove dangerous, particularly when ascending or descending at night.

Generally speaking, all steps in a flight should be as close to identical as possible. With differences in floor to floor height and in the available horizontal space from one building to the next, staircases should be custom made to ensure that they meet these regulations.