Are you unsure whether your staircase at home is in need of new parts? Are creaking sounds and wobbles giving you cause for concern? Take a look at this guide to checking the various components of your staircase to help you determine whether you need to purchase some new parts to make it safe again.
Some staircases, particularly older ones, develop a creaking noise that can be heard whenever some walks up or down them. This is usually caused by one or more pieces of timber rubbing against each other with the friction causing the resulting sound. Although it can sound as though the whole staircase is creaking, it is often just one or two treads that are causing the problem.
The key is to try and identify the parts that are making the noise. It could be a loose wedge or the edge of a tread rubbing against the baserail or possibly a loose section where the tread meets the riser. The problem can be easily fixed if you are able to access your staircase from below and you can glue and screw the affected areas as necessary.
If you can’t access your stairs from below, you can still work on the problem but you may need to resort to using steel braces to fix the troublesome components in place to prevent the friction that is causing the staircase to creak.
If you have treads or risers that are cracked or broken, you should strongly consider replacing them.
Secure spindles are essential to the structure and safety of a staircase and having loose spindles could pose a serious hazard. If your spindles are loose, you should repair them as soon as possible, while broken spindles must be replaced. For more information, take a look at our post on the subject of replacing spindles.
A loose handrail presents even more of a danger than a loose spindle and any movement should be addressed immediately. Often this will simply be a case of one or more screws being loose either where the bracket meets the wall or where it is attached to the handrail. If the handrail isn’t connected to the wall, the problem can potentially be more serious and fixing it is a more complicated matter.
For any stair parts you need, whether it’s to replace old ones or if you’re building a brand new staircase from scratch, UK Stair Parts has a full range of quality components.