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Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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Posted by debelli (My Page) on Fri, Jun 26, 09 at 22:10
| We are considering putting a bid on a house that's now a bank owned property. One of the things that bother me about the house is there's a staircase in the living room that leads to the attic. The attic is just that, an attic, not any type of bonus room, nor is it to be made in to one. I can't understand why a builder would put this where they did - it's not a really old home - was built in 1983. There is a pull down ladder in the hallway, so it's not like this is the only way to access the attic.
I'd like to know if removing this would be easy to do. Not sure if there's hardwood underneath this - would be a problem and probably costly if I needed to replace what may not be underneath.
If I have to keep these, was thinking about putting a door underneath and use for storage. Was also given an idea to build a wall up the side to "hide" the stairwell. Possibly put a door so you really wouldn't know it was there.
Would be great to remove - it would give us more living room space.
Does anyone have this type of setup in their living room?
Does anyone have any ideas on what to do - whether it be in removing it and closing up the ceiling, or covering it up?
Thanks for any input!
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| Given your situation, I'd lose the 'pull-down ladder' and keep the stairs 'as is'... Appears that the original builder was planning for a habitable 2nd floor access....and you should too. |
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| I'm definitely out of my league in knowing anything about construction, but I don't think the attic was meant to be made a room. The way the trusses, I believe that's what they are called, are up there in a way that wouldn't be possible. If I have to keep this staircase, I'd love to have some ideas how to make it less of a focal point as you walk in the front door. To me, it's just really odd to see this, but then again, I've never lived in a house with an attic (or a basement!) Thanks! |
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| Nothing that a little wrecking, framing, reflooring and drywalling can't cure. But it's hard to believe the second floor wasn't designed for living space. |
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| It's the flooring I'm worried about - I don't think it would be easy to match and really don't want to get in to replacing the entire floor, which goes all the way in to the hallway. Is it common to have flooring underneath a staircase such as this?? |
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| I think it is odd to you because you know what is behind the door. Most people would think there is an upstairs. I also find it hard to believe that they would put the stairs there unless the attic was meant to be living space at some point. Maybe you could have a contractor come out and take a look at it to see if it is possible to convert to living space. Depending on the roof line, maybe you could add a gable or shed dormer to increase the headroom up there. Good luck with whatever you decide. |
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| You can stand up in the attic, but the way all the trusses are, I can't imagine it being anything but a room, but then I'm not a contractor. Does anyone have storage under steps like this - a side door, should I need to keep it, that is, if we get the house. |
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| The house may have been designed to have a full second floor. As in remove all the trusses and add a complete second floor. You might even be able to re-use the trusses if the demo was done carefully. The builder may have run out of money and tried to get something out of the property. |
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| Thanks to all who replied to my post. We went to look at the house again this morning - was surprised to see some guys inside - seems the bank was paying to put on a new roof. I had someone meet me there that knows construction - the more he looked (and pointed out) he went from saying if I could get it at one price to I wouldn't buy this house for anything but the land. He pointed out things I hadn't seen before. The roof was much worse than thought, and even though they were putting a new one on, he pointed out many more problems that I hadn't noticed. On a good note, well sort of, we passed by another house that may be a match, and a better option. It has a contingency contract on it but we may put in an offer and see what happens. Again, I want to thank you all - the information was very helpful!!! May come back on here with some good news and for more ideas. THANKS EVERYONE! |
RE: Removing Staircase in Living Room that goes to attic? PICS
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| Just to address an unanswered question in case someone else comes across this re under stairs storage. That's a great spot to put storage, whether it's closed off with a door or made into built in shelving. This is done in bungalows and other older houses often. Personally, I love the look, but nothing in our house lends itself to do so. I would make that whole section book shelves. |
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