That area upstairs

AnonoBoy · 12-04-2010 02:47PM

pickarooney wrote: »

What's the bit between two flights of steps, where the staircase changes direction, called?

Middle bit of the stairs.

bonerm · 12-04-2010 03:36PM

On a slightly related topic, I do distinctly remember calling the banister the "balancester" for several years. It'd made some sort of sence if you think about it.

jester77 · 12-04-2010 03:42PM

I thought a landing is what you get when you fall drunk from this upstairs area onto the floor below.

Kiera · 12-04-2010 03:45PM

bonerm wrote: »

On a slightly related topic, I do distinctly remember calling the banister the "balancester" for several years. It'd made some sort of sence if you think about it.

You're funny

Mars Bar · 12-04-2010 04:02PM

I'd call it a landing too.

Great thread, I love simple topics that get ya thinking!

12-04-2010 04:12PM

Yep, it's the landing.

When I lived in bungalow we had a little coat cupboard thing in the hall. I never got out of the habit of calling it the under the stairs :rolleyes:

nucking futs · 12-04-2010 04:15PM

pickarooney wrote: »

What's the bit between two flights of steps, where the staircase changes direction, called?

Eh... step-corner?

rainbowdrop · 12-04-2010 04:17PM

alwaysadub wrote: »

I call it the attic.
I live in a bungalow. :pac:

I live in a bungalow, I call my attic 'the loft' though........

alwaysadub · 12-04-2010 04:30PM

rainbowdrop wrote: »

I live in a bungalow, I call my attic 'the loft' though........

Ooh how very posh

pickarooney · 12-04-2010 04:42PM

Aye, 'tis a garret round our way.

Giselle · 12-04-2010 06:11PM

pickarooney wrote: »

What's the bit between two flights of steps, where the staircase changes direction, called?

Thats called the return, as in the first floor return, the second floor return, and so on.

Sheeps · 12-04-2010 06:15PM

I personally refer to it as the upstairs private domicile reception quarters.

phasers · 12-04-2010 06:34PM

That has a name? When do you people reference that?

I just call the entire upstairs area "upstairs" and then specify a room if I need to

alwaysadub · 12-04-2010 06:38PM

phasers wrote: »

That has a name? When do you people reference that?

I just call the entire upstairs area "upstairs" and then specify a room if I need to

You've never heard of a landing??
What if you're talking about something that's on the floor or something in between the rooms?

WindSock · 12-04-2010 06:39PM

And the hot press, or presses. What is up with that? Is it because you press the door closed or something?

Giselle · 12-04-2010 06:42PM

WindSock wrote: »

And the hot press, or presses. What is up with that? Is it because you press the door closed or something?

'Press ' is an Irish word for cupboard, which I always wondered about. Hot cupboard sounds odd somehow.

In our house its called the airing cupboard, which makes more sense (to me!).

phasers · 12-04-2010 06:44PM

alwaysadub wrote: »

You've never heard of a landing??
What if you're talking about something that's on the floor or something in between the rooms?

It's either 'outside' (If I'm in my bedroom) or 'at the top of the stairs' (If I'm downstairs)

Jammyc · 12-04-2010 06:47PM

OutlawPete wrote: »

I grew up in Swords and my brothers told me when I was eight, that the Landing was called 'the landing' because if you forget to turn off the light there, planes would land on your house thinking it was the runway :rolleyes:

I was always told this too!:D

pickarooney · 13-04-2010 11:00AM

Giselle wrote: »

'Press ' is an Irish word for cupboard, which I always wondered about. Hot cupboard sounds odd somehow.

In our house its called the airing cupboard, which makes more sense (to me!).

Do you have a board inside with cups hanging off it and a nice breeze blowing through it?

LordSutch · 13-04-2010 12:01PM

Yup, its the landing.

Meemars · 13-04-2010 01:21PM

WindSock wrote: »

And the hot press, or presses. What is up with that? Is it because you press the door closed or something?

Don't get me started on "presses" what on earth does it mean????
Airing cupboard, or linen closet. And where you keep your cups & plates in the kitchen? A cupboard!
The middle bit of the stairs is called the return, top of the stairs is the landing, although I don't know why.

- and as for "doing the messages" - grrrrr

Earthhorse · 13-04-2010 01:31PM

A few people have mentioned the middle bit being called a return and that rang a bell so I decided to Google it and came across this article on different types of stairs:

A return stair divides the run, reversing direction a full 180 degrees at a landing.

There are diagrams there too. It looks like a return is a type of stair rather than an a part of the stair. Though maybe it is both.

julies boy · 13-04-2010 01:45PM

pickarooney wrote: »

What's the bit between two flights of steps, where the staircase changes direction, called?

twisters

julies boy · 13-04-2010 01:47PM

is it not called the landing becose thats were the stairs lands

:D:D:D:D:D

Kiera · 13-04-2010 01:51PM

Earthhorse wrote: »

A few people have mentioned the middle bit being called a return and that rang a bell so I decided to Google it and came across this article on different types of stairs:

A return stair divides the run, reversing direction a full 180 degrees at a landing.

There are diagrams there too. It looks like a return is a type of stair rather than an a part of the stair. Though maybe it is both.

I liked your other post where you called it a rest.

Earthhorse · 13-04-2010 01:54PM

Kiera wrote: »

I liked your other post where you called it a rest.

Guess you didn't like the post that much because I called it a pause.

pickarooney · 13-04-2010 02:06PM

Meemars wrote: »

Don't get me started on "presses" what on earth does it mean????
Airing cupboard, or linen closet. And where you keep your cups & plates in the kitchen? A cupboard!
The middle bit of the stairs is called the return, top of the stairs is the landing, although I don't know why.

- and as for "doing the messages" - grrrrr

How can you air anything inside a closet? And who has that much linen? Where do you put your cotton, your wool, your cashmere? If you're going to scoff at one set of words, at least make sure your alternatives aren't just as nonsensical.

Vaguely interesting tidbit - the Dutch use the same word, 'boodschap' to mean message and shopping.

Kiera · 13-04-2010 02:10PM

Earthhorse wrote: »

Guess you didn't like the post that much because I called it a pause.

guess i didnt.

Alun · 13-04-2010 02:13PM

pickarooney wrote: »

Vaguely interesting tidbit - the Dutch use the same word, 'boodschap' to mean message and shopping.

... not to forget a 'grote boodschap' or a 'kleine boodschap'

(For the non Dutch speakers it means a 'number two' or a 'number one' respectively).

Earthhorse · 13-04-2010 02:15PM

So I couldn't take the tension any longer and decided to e-mail an architect friend of mine to get the skinny on landings and returns. Here's the scoop.

Does a return refer to the part of the landing where the person "returns" or does it just refer to the design of the stairs i.e. a return stairs. Or does it refer to both?

The former. The stairs is called a 'dog-leg' stairs.

Also, when does a landing qualify as a landing? Is it any part of the stairs which isn't steps?

A level area at top, bottom or middle of stairs. You can't have a door at the top step without having a landing in front of it. There can only be 16 risers between landings, any more and you need a landing somewhere in the middle. (I'm assuming she's talking about building regs there).

So is a hall a landing too then, given that the landing at the top of the stairs refers to the entire area between the bedrooms?

Am I right in saying a return is also a landing?

Yes a hall is a landing and a return is also a landing.

In Georgian houses often the stairs is housed in a separate volume at the back of the house - known as the return.

That area upstairs

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