By Ellen Ralph
Cellar or basement safety is a concern for residential and commercial properties alike. The most obvious concerns are in public houses as they rely heavily on cellar space for storage of crates of drinks and gas cylinders. This article is about providing information in an easy to read format highlighting considerations that need to be made to ensure the entrance to your cellar is safe. This has been broken down into two sections, the hatch and the staircase.
Considering the hatch:
- Is there going to be a lot of foot traffic near or over the opening to the basement?
- Is the hole in the floor that is the entrance to the cellar clearly marked with signs, especially when it is open? This ensures people do not walk blindly in to the hole.
- Is there a hand rail or guard rail in place around the entrance to it? The railing should be at least 1100mm high. It is generally considered a breach of health and safety guidelines to use make shift barriers using chairs or loose rope barriers.
- Is the cover of the entrance only open when absolutely necessary?
- If the basement has been made in to a habitable space then there should be a window or door that can provide an additional exit point in case of a fire.
Considering the Staircase:
- How is it constructed? If it is wooden are all the individual parts free from rot and termites, this should be checked regularly and if there is cause for concern they should be checked by an expert. If they are stone or concrete you need to ensure that there are no cracks and that it is not too worn.
- Is there a hand rail? Any stairway in to a basement should have a banister that runs all the way from the top to bottom. This is even the case when the people who are using it may not always have their hands free to use it, for example in a bar and they are carrying crates of mixers.
- Is the lighting adequate? Ensure there is a working bulb in a normal light fitting or use an emergency bulkhead light fitting.
- How slippery are they? Where possible you should use a slip resistant surface on each step. However any covering needs to be well-maintained, as carpets that are worn can be a potential hazard that is significantly increased on a staircase.
- You need to consider the people who may use the staircase, if there is a chance that a person with limited vision or mobility will use them, you can use luminous strips to highlight the edges and rise of each step. You need to make sure that there is nothing that blocks the strips from being seen easily.
There are other things that need to be considered when you are starting to use, or even creating steps in to a cellar or basement. If you are unsure that pre-existing ones meet your needs and are in a good physical condition, to ensure the safety of all the users, you should consult an expert.
Ellen Ralph is an expert writer in interior design. To complete your project with the perfect staircase she recommends a supplier of quality stair parts.
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