Some will probably disagree with me, but when I think of a successful solution to stairway, I like to think circular. There are several reasons why, and I will do my best to explain.
Beauty
I think my first point will be agreed upon by most, and that is beauty. A circular stair simply looks more beautiful. Why? Because it curves, emulating Classical proportional standards of beauty.
Structure
A circular stair is also more structurally sound. For those who don’t understand the anatomy of a stair, the main structural element in a stair is the stringer. It is what the steps rest on, as well as what is normally attached to the floors that are being connected by the stair. If one is using wood to build a stair, and he wants to change directions partway down, then there must be some kind of supporting element where the change of direction occurs. There are usually several joints that must be made. Every joint is a weak point and must be supported somehow.
The stringers of a circular stair do not need to have joints. To make a turn with a circular stair, the stringers are built by bending and laminating several thin pieces of wood. Once glued and dried, the laminated wood is very strong – even stronger than a straight board of the same thickness straight from the mill. When assembled, the stair only needs to be supported at two points: the floor where it begins and the floor where it ends. There is no need to worry about supporting the middle because it is one consistent turn.
Safety
A third reason to use a circular stair is because it is safer. Stair manufacturer Arcways stated that circular stairs are safer because those using them have to pay attention during their journey up or down because they are always turning. This results in fewer accidents. They have been doing stairs for many years so I will take their word for it!
Efficiency
The final reason I will state here is that circular stairs can be more space efficient. This is a fact that I have learned from experience, and I will explain using pictures.
Last year a client asked if we could cut a whole in their dining room floor and put in a stair down to their basement. When they showed us where they wanted it, and we saw the space we had to work with, we knew that we needed to put on our thinking caps. We knew that it was going to very tight, if it could work at all. One thing that worked to our advantage was that they already met the code requirements for egress stairs. That meant that we could take more liberties with this stair.
It was obvious that the stair could not be one straight run; there was definitely no room for that. We tested straight stairs with one and two turns, but those did not fit. Finally we tested a stair with one simple curve. It fit nicely. See the finished product below.
This plan drawing of the stair shows two double doors connecting main rooms of the house. Although the client was willing to give them up for a new stair, the circular stair allowed us to continue their use.