AU757329B2 - An improved method of staircase manufacture and components therefor - Google Patents

Description

'r P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT 0.

0 ::0 0 0 0 0 Invention Title: AN IMPROVED METHOD OF STAIRCASE MANUFACTURE AND COMPONENTS

THEREFOR

Applicant: TOP STAIRS STAFF PTY LTD *000 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: -2- AN IMPROVED METHOD OF STAIRCASE MANUFACTURE AND COMPONENTS THEREFOR Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved method of staircase manufacture, to a method for building a balustrade or dwarf wall for a staircase, and to various components therefore.

Background of the Invention In recent years it has become increasingly popular to incorporate sweeping or curved staircases in multi-storey buildings. This is particularly the case in homes where curved or sweeping staircases are considered to provide a sense 15 of grandeur. One problem with such staircases is that they are very time 0 consuming to manufacture as they must be hand crafted. Accordingly, such staircases are very expensive.

logo oooo One solution to this problem has been to make use of flaring stairs. The lower 20 section of the lower flight of such stairs are gently widened to form a curve so ooooo that the overall impression of the staircase is that it is actually curved. Although these staircases do have a curved appearance they are not as popular and do not give the same affect as the traditional sweeping curved staircases.

One aspect of the present invention seeks to address the above mentioned problems.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of constructing a staircase including the steps of: -3a) determining the configuration of the required finished profile of a primary boundary and a secondary boundary between which said staircase is to be attached; b) using the configuration of the required finished profile of the primary boundary and the secondary boundary to determine the configuration of a primary boundary template and a secondary boundary template; c) using the configuration of the required finished profile of the primary boundary and the secondary boundary to determine the configuration of various components used in the manufacture of the staircase; d) constructing the primary boundary using the primary boundary template as a guide for determining the finished profile of the primary boundary; and e) using at least the various components manufactured at Step c) to construct the staircase which is attached to the primary boundary.

Preferably, the method further includes the step of: a) constructing the secondary boundary using the secondary boundary template as a guide for determining the finished profile of the secondary boundary.

Preferably, the profile of the primary template or the secondary template is determined on the basis that if the respective template is used as a guide for positioning a main support for the respective boundary, the resultant boundary once fully constructed using predetermined building techniques will result in a boundary having the desired finished profile.

The main support may include a plurality of studs or alternatively may include other material such as bricks.

Preferably, the step of constructing the primary or secondary boundary includes the steps of fixing the respective primary or secondary template to a floor -4surface, connecting studs to the template so that they extend substantially perpendicular to the primary template.

Alternatively, the template may only be used to mark out the required profile of the primary or secondary boundary on a floor surface.

The construction step may also include the step of capping the studs with a top plate. A finished surface, such as plaster board sheet, may then be secured to the studs.

Preferably, the construction step additionally includes the step of cutting at least one section of a spare primary or secondary template identical in configuration a correspondingly positioned section of the primary or secondary template located on the floor surface and attaching that section between adjacently 15 positioned studs. These sections of templates between studs act as noggins.

Preferably, the exact configuration of the various components of the staircase is S•determined by a software program which calculates the required configuration of each of the components on the basis that they are to be used to construct a 20 staircase for attachment between the primary and the secondary boundary.

ooooo Preferably, the components of the staircase include stringers and treads.

*t The primary and/or the secondary boundary may be finished as a dwarf wall.

Preferably, the dwarf wall is constructed according to the steps of: a) trimming each of the vertical studs to a required height above an adjacent tread of the staircase; b) attaching pre-made end finished studs to each of the trimmed vertical studs, and wherein each of said end finished studs has an upper end shaped so that when a top capping is subsequently attached thereto, the top capping adopts a desired orientation.

Preferably, the upper end of the each of the end finished studs is formed by making a compound cut thereto. The end finished studs are preferably overlapped with the vertical studs and attached thereto using glue and/or screws.

The top capping is preferably attached to the end finished studs using glue and/or nails. The top capping is preferably made from a flexible material and may be made of a thin wooden material.

The primary and/or secondary boundary may be finished with a balustrade.

The balustrade is preferably attached to the primary or secondary boundary according to the steps of: a) attaching uprights to the primary or the secondary wall so that they each extend to a required height above an adjacent tread of the staircase, said uprights having an upper end of a pre-determined configuration; S•b) attaching a balustrade to the upper ends of the uprights, said upper ends of the uprights being shaped so that when the balustrade is attached thereto it will adopt a desired orientation.

Preferably, the uprights are made from timber or metal. The balustrade may be made from timber or metal. The balustrade is preferably made from rolled steel.

The upper ends of the uprights are preferably configured so that when the balustrade is attached to them, any point along the length of the balustrade adopts the required curve and planer orientation so that it feels "flat" to a user as they ascend or descend the staircase.

The invention also provides a kit of parts for constructing the primary and secondary boundaries for a curved staircase, the kit of parts including at least one primary boundary template and at least one secondary boundary template, the primary and secondary boundary templates reflecting the desired finished profile of the respective primary and secondary boundaries.

The kit may also include staircase components which have been pre-made on the basis that the primary boundary and the secondary boundary between which they are to be attached will have a predetermined finished profile.

The staircase components preferably include at least one stringer and at least one tread. The staircase components may also include at least one riser.

The kit may also include at least one pre-made end finished stud.

Brief Description of the Drawings .ooooi Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a staircase manufactured in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

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Figure 2A is an isometric view of a primary boundary template in accordance 20 with an embodiment of the invention.

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Figure 2B is a plan view of the primary boundary template shown in Figure 2A.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a template with attached studs, template sections and noggins.

Figure 4 is a plan view showing a series of guide plates in position between a primary and a secondary template.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the upper end of an end finished stud.

-7- Figure 6 is a perspective view showing attachment of an end finished stud to an upright.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Figure 1 illustrates a staircase 12 which is attached between a primary boundary 12 and a secondary boundary 14. As shown in this Figure, the primary boundary 12 is actually a side wall which extends to a ceiling, whereas the secondary boundary 14 incorporates a dwarf wall 40 which acts as a balustrade. The staircase 10 includes a number individual stairs which are each formed from a tread 16 and an adjacent riser 18. Although not illustrated in these Figures, each of the risers 18 are mounted at either end on a stringer (not shown) which is secured to the respective adjacent primary or secondary boundary 12, 14. The treads 16 extend between adjacently located risers 18 and are secured thereto in accordance with prior art methods.

When a staircase 10 is to be incorporated into a house or other building the proposed configuration of the finished staircase must first be determined. The designer determines an appropriate radius for the primary boundary 12 and 20 accordingly designates sufficient space within the building to accommodate the "staircase. The designer draws the primary boundary 12 from a notional centre.

The same notional centre is used as a centre point for the secondary boundary 14. The secondary boundary 14 may have a constant radius from the notional center or a varying radius. The secondary boundary 14 is of a lesser radius than the primary boundary 12. The difference between the radii of the primary and secondary boundaries 12, 14 equates to the width of the stair tread 16.

Once the configuration of the staircase 10, the primary boundary 12 and the secondary boundary 14 have been determined by the designer, this information is given to a staircase manufacturer so that they can use this information to design the required staircase. The staircase manufacturer then uses this information to design and subsequently construct primary and secondary -8boundary templates 20, 21. Figures 2A and 2B illustrate such a primary boundary template 20. The primary boundary template 20 has an outer edge 22 which is reflective of the desired finished profile of the primary boundary 12 which is to be constructed.

The primary boundary template 20 shown in Figure 2A would be used to construct a primary boundary 12 having a substantially C-shaped profile.

However, it should be appreciated that the template 20 could adopt various different configurations which may include straight portions as well as curved portions. The configuration of the profile of the primary boundary 12 is really only limited by the availability of appropriate wall construction methods.

.o.o.i •'The primary and secondary boundary templates 20, 21 are typically made from lengths of timber, MDF or metal which may be joined using the method 15 described in Australian Patent 726,399. This joining method provides an °o o• 0 accurate and strong join between the various lengths of timbers and thus 0: ensures the accuracy of the profile of the templates 20, 21.

0 The information provided to the staircase manufacturer is also used to 20 determine the required configuration of the various treads and stringers used in o the construction of the staircase. The configuration of the treads, stringers and risers is determined by purpose written computer software. The software is also used to generate command files for computer controlled machinery.

Consequently, the various components of the staircase can be pre-cut with greater accuracy in a factory environment and then supplied to the installer or installer, who in turn constructs the staircase using the pre-cut components onsite. This therefore avoids the necessity to hand make the components of the staircase on site using traditional methods and reduces the skill level required by the tradesperson installing the staircase.

The initial step in the staircase construction process is to construct the primary boundary 12 to which the staircase 10 is ultimately to be attached. In order to -9construct the primary boundary 12 the installer must firstly position the primary boundary template 20 at the desired location within the building. The primary boundary template 20 is fixed to the floor of the building and then studs 24 are attached along the length thereof so that they extend substantially perpendicularly to the template 20. To ensure accurate location of the studs the primary boundary template 20 preferably includes a series of spaced trenches along its length. The trenches 23 extend along a line representing a continuation of the radius of the primary boundary template 20 from the notional centre. This arrangement is best illustrated in Figure 2B.

Template pieces 28, sometimes called noggins, are then fitted between adjacent studs 24. The template pieces 28 are formed from cutting an ~additional primary boundary template 20 into a series of pieces and then cutting these pieces 28 down in size so that they can be attached between adjacent studs 24.

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It is envisaged that the additional primary boundary template 20 would be 4..

supplied with the cuts only partially made so that the installer can "snap off" the template pieces 28 from the additional boundary template 20 as required. The 20 template pieces 28 are located in the correct order so that the resultant profile of the template pieces 28 once connected between the studs 24 is identical to the profile of the primary boundary template 20. This aids in ensuring that the ;completed profile of the primary boundary 12 is consistent along its height.

The studs 24 are then capped with a wall plate 30 which is of substantially identical configuration to the primary boundary template 20. The primary boundary 12 is then finished with plaster board sheet or the like in accordance with standard building techniques.

As shown in Figure 1, the staircase 10 is located between the primary and secondary boundaries 12, 14. Accordingly, before the staircase 10 can be built the secondary boundary 14 must also be constructed.

The secondary boundary 14 is constructed in a manner substantially identical to that described previously in relation to the construction of the primary boundary 12. However, to maintain the required spacing and accuracy between the primary and secondary boundaries 12, 14 a series of guide plates 35, as shown in Figure 4, may be located between the primary and secondary boundary templates 20, 21. The guide plates 35 may also be used at various heights above the floor to check the accuracy of the secondary wall 14 construction and are located together using male lockers in accordance with the teaching of Australian Patent 726399.

As the secondary boundary 14 illustrated in Figure 1 actually incorporates a :,:':dwarf wall 40, some slight variation in the construction technique for this wall is :i required. Typically, instead of capping the studs 24 with a top plate 30 they will be left uncapped. Furthermore, the plaster board which is attached to the face of the secondary boundary 14 to which the staircase 10 is to be attached need only be finished to a point above the finished height of the treads of the staircase. The construction of the dwarf wall 40 will be described in more detail below.

•0 Once the primary and secondary boundaries 12, 14 have been constructed, the stringers which have been pre-cut off-site are readily secured to the primary and 1 4 :secondary boundaries 12,14. Attachment of the pre-cut stringers, pre-cut treads and risers occurs in accordance with standard building practice.

Alternatively, in some instances cleats are attached to the wall and no stringers are used.

In some instances, the staircase 10 will be bounded by primary and secondary boundaries 12, 14 which extend all the way to the ceiling height of the building.

Alternatively, one or more of the primary or secondary boundaries 12, 14 may be topped with a balustrade or dwarf wall so as to prevent a user from inadvertently falling off the staircase. As stated above, if one of the primary or -11 secondary boundaries 12, 14 incorporates a dwarf wall 40 above the height of the treads of the staircase 10, then during the construction of that boundary 12, 14 no capping plate 30 is applied to the studs 24. Instead, once the staircase has been constructed and the treads 16 are in position, the installer cuts the studs 24 off at a required height above the adjacent tread 16. This height is determined by the length dimension of the end finished stud 50 and the required finished height of the dwarf wall above the tread 16. A measuring apparatus, in the form of a stud having an angled top piece coincident with the angle of the end finished stud 50 may be supplied to facilitate proper height measurement.

The installer then attaches to each of the trimmed studs 24 a pre-made end :"'finished stud 50 supplied by the staircase manufacturer. Each end finished stud 50 may be butt joined to its respective stud 24. However, to provide greater accuracy and strength to the joint it is preferred to overlap the stud 50 down the side of its respective stud 24 and to attach it using screws/nails 55 and/or glue as shown in Figure 6.

o Each end finished stud 50 has an upper end 52 which has been specially configured so that when a top capping or balustrade 60 is attached to the various end finished studs 50, it will adopt the required orientation. The required orientation of the top of the dwarf wall or the balustrade is normally determined by the need for the top capping or balustrade to adopt a particular angle relative to the angle of descent of the stairs, as well as to ensure that it remains essentially tangential to the curve of the stair.

Figure 5 illustrates the upper end of a timber end finished stud 50. The upper end 52 is typically made by making a compound cut to the end of the stud The angles of the compound cut are calculated so that when the top capping is firmly secured to the upper end 52 of the various end finished studs 50 it will automatically adopt the required orientation. The top capping 60 would typically be secured to the end finished studs 50 using glue and nails. In an alternative arrangement the upper end 52 is formed with an angled cut.

-12- The end finished studs 50 are factory made with the configuration of the upper end 52 being determined on the basis of the configuration of the primary and/or secondary boundaries 12, 14 to which the staircase 10 is to be attached. The end finished studs 50 can therefore be pre-made off-site in a factory environment and then supplied to the installer. This removes the need for the installer to make such crucial cuts on-site. This also means that the installer need not necessarily be as skilled in construction techniques as would normally be required if prior art methods of staircase and balustrade construction were used.

It is envisaged that the top capping 60 could be made of any suitable flexible material. For example, the top capping 60 could be made from a length of thin timber, such as MDF. It is envisaged that in such a circumstance the timber would need to be of a thickness of 6mm or less. Preferably, multiple layers of such timber would be secured to the studs 50 so as to form the top capping Once the top capping 60 is attached to the end finished studs 50 using glue and nails, it may be covered with a finishing layer such as plaster board sheet.

Alternatively, the timber could be finished by simply painting or by applying another alternative covering.

In an alternative arrangement of the invention, instead of incorporating a dwarf wall 40 the staircase 10 may include uprights and a balustrade. In such a circumstance, the uprights may be attached to the ends 16a of the treads 16 or to the portion of the primary or secondary wall 12, 14 located below the treads 16. The uprights may be made from numerous different materials but would need to have an upper end which is configured so that when the balustrade is attached thereto it adopts the required orientation. In other words, the upper ends would need to be specially shaped in accordance with the pre-determined configuration of the staircase. As described above, the uprights could be manufactured off-site and supplied to the installer upon request. The balustrade in such a circumstance may be made of a rolled metal or timber which can be flexed for attachment to the uprights.

-13- It will be apparent from the discussion above that the present invention requires the designer/architect to provide certain information to the staircase manufacturer about the desired staircase and its adjacent boundaries. The staircase manufacturer can then in turn construct certain components which are to be incorporated into the adjacent boundaries as they are constructed. The staircase manufacturer also designs and provides the stringers, treads and uprights for the staircase. In addition, the staircase manufacturer may also use the information provided to make appropriate end shaped studs. These components are then supplied to the installer so that he can in turn construct the walls or boundaries to which the staircase is to be attached. These wall or *boundaries are made using pre-cut templates and are thus more likely to be dimensionally accurate. Accordingly, the staircase components supplied by the *,staircase manufacturer to the installer can be readily and simply attached to the walls bounding the staircase.

The profiles of the boundary walls when constructed properly will correspond almost exactly with the design specification originally given to the staircase manufacturer by the designer or architect. The components for the staircase will assemble together with little or no need for adjustment by the installer. It will therefore be appreciated that the time necessary on site to construct the staircase will be greatly reduced as compared to prior art staircase construction techniques. The level of skill required to install the staircase need not be as great because the components are all pre-cut.

The present invention also ensures that for project homes or other buildings where the designs are frequently repeated, it will be possible to manufacture multiple sets of components of a pre-set configuration which can be readily used to construct a staircase in the project home or building. The costs involved in manufacturing such staircases would be reduced because they are not "one off" constructions.

-14- The embodiments have been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (28)

1. A method of constructing a staircase including the steps of: a) determining the configuration of the required finished profile of a primary boundary and a secondary boundary between which said staircase is to be attached; b) using the configuration of the required finished profile of the primary boundary and the secondary boundary to determine the configuration of a primary boundary template and a secondary boundary template; c) using the configuration of the required finished profile of the primary boundary and the secondary boundary to determine the configuration of various components used in the manufacture of the staircase; d) constructing the primary boundary using the primary boundary template as a guide for determining the finished profile of the primary boundary; and e) using at least the various components manufactured at Step c) to construct the staircase which is attached to the primary boundary.

2. A method according to claim 1 further including the step of: a) constructing the secondary boundary using the secondary boundary template as a guide for determining the finished profile of the secondary boundary.

3. A method according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the step of determining the configuration of the required finished profile of the primary boundary is performed on the basis that if the primary boundary template is used as a guide for positioning a main support or supports for the primary boundary, the resultant primary boundary once fully constructed using predetermined building techniques will result in the primary boundary having the desired finished profile. -16-

4. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the step of determining the configuration of the required finished profile of the secondary boundary is performed on the basis that if the secondary boundary template is used as a guide for positioning a main support or supports for the secondary boundary, the resultant secondary boundary once fully constructed using predetermined building techniques will result in the secondary boundary having the desired finished profile. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the step of constructing the primary or the secondary boundary includes the steps of fixing the respective primary or secondary boundary template to a floor surface, connecting a main support to the primary or secondary template and applying a o wall forming material to the main support.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the primary and/or secondary templates are used to mark out the required profile of the primary and/or the secondary boundary on a floor surface.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the primary and/or secondary boundaries are made from a plurality of bricks or a cast material.

8. A method according to any claim 3 including the step of cutting at least one section of a spare primary or secondary template identical in configuration to a correspondingly positioned section of the respective primary or secondary template located on the floor surface and attaching that section between adjacently positioned main supports.

9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the configuration of the various components of the staircase is determined by a software program which calculates the required configuration of each of the components on the basis that they are to be used to construct a staircase for attachment between the primary and the secondary boundary. -17- A method according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the components of the staircase include stringers and treads.

11. A method according to any one of claims 3 to 10 wherein the main support or main supports of the primary and/or the secondary boundaries are capped with a capping plate.

12. A method according to claim 11 wherein the capping plate in situ has a substantially identical curve to the respective primary or secondary template. .oo..i

13. A method according to claim 5 wherein the main support includes a plurality of studs and the wall forming material is a plasterboard sheeting.

14. A method according to claim 13 wherein either the primary and/or the secondary boundary is finished as a dwarf wall. A method according to claim 14 wherein the dwarf wall is constructed according to the steps of: a) trimming each of the vertical studs to a required height above an adjacent tread of the staircase; b) attaching a pre-made end finished stud to each of the trimmed vertical studs, and wherein each of said end finished studs has an upper end shaped so that when a top capping is subsequently attached thereto, the top capping adopts a desired orientation.

16. A method according to claim 15 wherein the upper end of each end finished stud is formed by making a compound cut thereto.

17. A method according to claim 16 wherein the end of each end finished stud is overlapped with a corresponding vertical stud and attached thereto using glue and/or screws. -18-

18. A method according to any one of claimsl5 to 17 wherein the top capping is attached to the end finished studs using glue and/or nails.

19. A method according to claiml8 wherein the top capping is made from a flexible material. A method according to claim 13 wherein either the primary and/or the secondary boundary is finished with a balustrade.

021. A method according to claim 20 wherein the balustrade is attached according to the steps of: a) attaching uprights to the primary and/or the secondary wall so that they each extend to a required height above an adjacent tread of the staircase, said uprights having an upper end of a pre-determined configuration; b) attaching a balustrade to the upper ends of the uprights, said upper ends of the uprights being shaped so that when the balustrade is attached thereto it will adopt a desired orientation.

22. A method according to claim 21 wherein the uprights are made from timber or metal and the balustrade is made from timber or metal.

23. A kit of parts for constructing a primary and a secondary boundary for a curved staircase, the kit of parts including at least one primary boundary template and at least one secondary boundary template, the primary and secondary boundary templates reflecting the desired finished profile of the respective primary and secondary boundaries.

24. A kit according to claim 23 further including components for the manufacture of the curved staircase, said components having been pre-made on the basis that the primary boundary and the secondary boundary between which they are to be attached will have predetermined finished profile. -19- A kit according to claim 24 wherein the components include at least one stringer and at least one tread.

26. A kit according to claim 25 wherein the components also include at least one riser.

27. A kit according to claim 26 further including at least one pre-made end finished stud.

28. A primary or a secondary boundary template for use in the method of any one of claims 1 to 22.

29. A primary or a secondary boundary template according to claim 28 and further including at least one trench means formed therein for locating and receiving therein a main support. A staircase built in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 22.

31. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

32. A primary or a secondary boundary template substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

33. A kit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

34. A staircase substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED: 15 November 2002 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: ^N TOP STAIRS STAFF PTY LTD