Beechwood House, Stone Stairs

location: Newport, South Wales

client: Newport City Council

contract value: N/A

During Mann Williams' involvement in the major refurbishment of this Grade 2 Listed house dating from 1880, concerns were expressed about the structural stability of a slender cantilever stone stair.

Mann Williams carried out a detailed theoretical analysis of the stair based on current published research, and arranged a full scale load test. The test demonstrated that the stair had sufficient capacity to withstand crowd loading, avoiding the need for intrusive strengthening.