Mrs Thompson, Ulverstone, Cumbria

Why a new staircase?

We live in a converted barn and had already done quite a lot of upgrading. The stairs stood out as dated with dark wood spindles which had been badly finished a long time ago. The stairs are open tread and go right up through the house which is open plan and are quite a major feature.

Inspiration:

We saw various advertisements from other companies showing beautiful oak and glass staircases which we thought would look great in our house so we started some research. We found that it was possible to re-clad the open tread existing staircase rather than ripping it all out. We liked Abbott Wade’s website and read good reviews about them on the internet from other clients.

Decision making process:

We thought it was sensible to get several quotes so asked 3 companies to visit including Abbott Wade. The other 2 companies’ quotes were higher, one considerably so. One of the main difficult issues was that of the strings which, with the stairs being open tread had to be cladded individually. Neither company could offer the same cladding for the strings that Abbott-Wade could, one wanted us to paint them white ourselves, the other just said they couldn’t do it. This was a key issue and made the job more complicated. Janet, the sales consultant was excellent – friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The company’s final price was very competitive. We have quite a complicated staircase with 4 different runs as the house is on split levels, so needed some clever designs at the turns. It also had to be made very safe for our small grandchildren.

Style choice:

The open treads allow light through and we chose the clear glass and oak without brackets to achieve a streamlined look throughout. This has opened up the whole living area and lets more light into the hallways.

End Result:

Stunning! Everyone who visits loves it and we are delighted. The whole process took a little longer than for a more straightforward job but Abbott-Wade took their time to do a thoroughly professional job and we were able to use the staircase all the time. The team was led by Mike Wade and they all worked well together coming up with clever solutions for any complicated parts. They even cladded a window cill to match. We would highly recommend this company – they were a pleasure to deal with.

Useful Links

Glass Staircases

Embedded Glass Staircases

Oak Staircases

Staircase Renovations

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