GoT Actor James Cosmo Explains Why Choosing Arc Fabrications Was "No-Brainer"
In October 2016, Arc Fabrications supplied and installed an outdoor staircase and balcony for Game of Thrones actor, James Cosmo at his home in Surrey. When the owner of Arc Fabrications, Steve Gibbs, made the initial site survey, he met only James' wife, Annie. It was only when James brought out cups of tea for the crew on the first day of installation, they discovered that their customer was the world-famous actor.
(Watch our video of James and the construction of his staircase at the bottom of the page)
Upside Down House
"We bought this house about 12 years ago," said James who played Jeor Mormont in the hit show Game of Thrones. "It had just been constructed – and one of the main features was that the living room is upstairs and the bedrooms are downstairs. This is to take advantage of the pitched roof and the glass, as you'll see from the pictures.
"But the one drawback was that to go out into the garden, for the kids to play out in the garden, for the dog or whatever, that we had to go downstairs and round the corner.
"So my wife and I thought, 'The answer to it is to get an external staircase from the balcony up there and bring it down.' First we thought maybe wood. But then it was a bit too much wood, so we decided on a sort of slightly more… not industrial but something that would ring the changes between all the wood. So we decided on metal.
"We contacted Arc Fabrications to do the work for us."
New Staircase For Actor James Cosmo – Before and After
"The staircase contained 3 winder steps to turn the staircase and create more space in the garden," explains Steve Gibbs, owner of Arc Fabrications. "As with all staircases, we first fabricate them in the workshop. James wanted a staircase fabricated from mild steel, with bull-nose durbar or checkerplate treads and landing."
James is already impressed with the difference his new staircase and balcony has made to his home.
"It was amazing," said James, "because there was a fence further back there and having this platform opened up – it's given us a bit more space – and then the first time you come down you realize, 'Oh, I'm in the garden already.' It's really lovely because we'll be able to make more use of it. It'll be less of a hassle to utilise the garden. It's going to be great.
"It's going to be lovely. I can't wait for next summer when we can really have parties out here. It just opens up, not only the garden but it opens up the house if you're in the garden."
James was full of praise for Arc Fabrications.
"They kept in touch with us all the way through the process as to the smaller parts of the design; the colour and everything else," said James. "They came when they said they would, worked a couple of days and there it was. Bang! Done!
"And they've done a wonderfully professional job. Just little things like making sure that everything was finished and neat and tidy. It was a no-brainer to use Arc Fabrications.
"The crew has been very considerate and anything we wanted done, it was done. Really terrific!"
"Price and Quality – Both Are Terrific"
James explained why anyone who is looking for a metal staircase should choose Arc Fabrications to do the work:
"We called in another couple of companies as well as Arc Fabrications but they didn't really come up to the mark. When the representative came round from Arc Fabrications, very quickly he understood what we wanted. And the price was much more competitive.
"Well, you get what you pay for," said James, "but with Arc Fabrications, you pay a really reasonable price and you get professionalism. That's the most important thing. The price and the quality of the work – both are terrific."
"The price was right. The work was done very quickly, very efficiently. Great guys. They caused absolutely no problem. It was terrific.
"I would absolutely recommend Arc Fabrications to anyone who was going to have some fabrication done."
James could see the fun side of his new balcony:
"It looks as if I'm back at Castle Black, staring out over my 'lands'. You know, my vast estate here! It's a lovely vantage point. And I can shout at the neighbours, I can throw stones at them! It's great!"
Standing on his new balcony, James played along for the Game of Thrones fans in the crew by with one of his best-known lines. "You know nothing Jon Snow. Winter is coming."
Mild steel staircase, 200mm x 10mm stringers, with bull-nose durbar/checkerplate treads.
Staircase contained 3 winder steps to turn the staircase and create more space in the garden.
Frame for landing constructed from 100mm x 50mm channel. Checkerplate/durbar used on balcony flooring to match the stair treads.
Landing supported by structural post under one corner and supported by the existing structure on the opposite corner.
Balustrades were infilled with both plain and decorative basket spindles.
All metal was treated in the workshop with primer, and then received a final coat of gunmetal grey after installation.
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