Stairs issue with 'shortlist' house

JuzaMum

Hi, I am hoping to move and unfortunately my budget doesn't meet my wants so there are compromises to be made. I like this house (floor plan below) which is an extended cottage. The stairs are very steep and end halfway outside the doorways on the two front bedrooms. I wondered if anyone had any bright ideas of how I could improve on the this and how much it is likely to cost? I'm seeing the 'reception room' to the right of the stairs as more of a hallway. Tia

Brie

do the steep stairs mean that they are very shallow?  i.e. not enough room for your foot solidly on each step?  If so could you replace them with paddle stairs?  We had these in our previous house and after the first couple of days we never noticed any difference to regular stairs.

JuzaMum

Brie said:

do the steep stairs mean that they are very shallow?  i.e. not enough room for your foot solidly on each step?  If so could you replace them with paddle stairs?  We had these in our previous house and after the first couple of days we never noticed any difference to regular stairs.

Both shallow and steep. We are not getting younger so we want something safe for our old age!

Section62

JuzaMum said:

Hi, I am hoping to move and unfortunately my budget doesn't meet my wants so there are compromises to be made. I like this house (floor plan below) which is an extended cottage. The stairs are very steep and end halfway outside the doorways on the two front bedrooms. I wondered if anyone had any bright ideas of how I could improve on the this and how much it is likely to cost? I'm seeing the 'reception room' to the right of the stairs as more of a hallway. Tia

A lot depends on the structure and which walls/floors can be modified with the least amount of work, but you would almost certainly have to lose a room on both the ground and first floor.

If budget wasn't an issue I'd consider something like this (subject to the structure).  The green space on the ground floor could be used for the WC (freeing up space in the kitchen) plus a shower/wet room (the bathroom and utility suggest plumbing/drainage will be nearby for this).  The green space on the first floor could be merged into the existing bathroom to make that more practical as a main/family bathroom.  You've lost a bedroom, but gained a better bathroom and more kitchen space.

With accurate measurements plus an understanding of the structure there could be further tweaks - for example making the remaining front bedroom larger, or giving it an ensuite.

Edit: Also existing stairs removed to retain direct access from front door to breakfast room/kitchen, and so the fisrt floor landing works.

JuzaMum

Section62 said:

JuzaMum said:

Hi, I am hoping to move and unfortunately my budget doesn't meet my wants so there are compromises to be made. I like this house (floor plan below) which is an extended cottage. The stairs are very steep and end halfway outside the doorways on the two front bedrooms. I wondered if anyone had any bright ideas of how I could improve on the this and how much it is likely to cost? I'm seeing the 'reception room' to the right of the stairs as more of a hallway. Tia

A lot depends on the structure and which walls/floors can be modified with the least amount of work, but you would almost certainly have to lose a room on both the ground and first floor.

If budget wasn't an issue I'd consider something like this (subject to the structure).  The green space on the ground floor could be used for the WC (freeing up space in the kitchen) plus a shower/wet room (the bathroom and utility suggest plumbing/drainage will be nearby for this).  The green space on the first floor could be merged into the existing bathroom to make that more practical as a main/family bathroom.  You've lost a bedroom, but gained a better bathroom and more kitchen space.

With accurate measurements plus an understanding of the structure there could be further tweaks - for example making the remaining front bedroom larger, or giving it an ensuite.

Edit: Also existing stairs removed to retain direct access from front door to breakfast room/kitchen, and so the fisrt floor landing works.

Thanks for that, it's an interesting idea. I'm quite happy to lose the reception space downstairs as I see that room as a space for coats and shoes. We do actually need all the bedroom space but depending on structure, the front right bedroom could be longer and we could maybe take the middle window from the other bedroom. The wall between the bathroom and stairway bedroom is solid (I have been knocking on walls in the house!)

Section62

JuzaMum said:

Section62 said:

Thanks for that, it's an interesting idea. I'm quite happy to lose the reception space downstairs as I see that room as a space for coats and shoes. We do actually need all the bedroom space but depending on structure, the front right bedroom could be longer and we could maybe take the middle window from the other bedroom. The wall between the bathroom and stairway bedroom is solid (I have been knocking on walls in the house!)

If the number of bedrooms is essential, but you could live without the ensuite, then this might be an option... with the least amount of alterations and the option to revert back to an ensuite if the need for bedrooms reduces in the future.

But the cost of the work is adding up... so it might not be a viable solution.

lincroft1710

Section62 said:

JuzaMum said:

Hi, I am hoping to move and unfortunately my budget doesn't meet my wants so there are compromises to be made. I like this house (floor plan below) which is an extended cottage. The stairs are very steep and end halfway outside the doorways on the two front bedrooms. I wondered if anyone had any bright ideas of how I could improve on the this and how much it is likely to cost? I'm seeing the 'reception room' to the right of the stairs as more of a hallway. Tia

A lot depends on the structure and which walls/floors can be modified with the least amount of work, but you would almost certainly have to lose a room on both the ground and first floor.

If budget wasn't an issue I'd consider something like this (subject to the structure).  The green space on the ground floor could be used for the WC (freeing up space in the kitchen) plus a shower/wet room (the bathroom and utility suggest plumbing/drainage will be nearby for this).  The green space on the first floor could be merged into the existing bathroom to make that more practical as a main/family bathroom.  You've lost a bedroom, but gained a better bathroom and more kitchen space.

With accurate measurements plus an understanding of the structure there could be further tweaks - for example making the remaining front bedroom larger, or giving it an ensuite.

Edit: Also existing stairs removed to retain direct access from front door to breakfast room/kitchen, and so the fisrt floor landing works.

Why not put the stairs in the green area which would allow for a small bedroom to the front of the house?

p00hsticks

I'm probably being stupid, but could you remove part of the wall between the existing staircase and the bottom right reception room and then add a half flight of stairs in that room at right angles to meet the existing stairwell. This would double the length of the stair case and so make it shallower ?

RAS

This is one where a visit from an architect might be the best option?

We can only see the plan, not the whole volume.

Section62

p00hsticks said:

I'm probably being stupid, but could you remove part of the wall between the existing staircase and the bottom right reception room and then add a half flight of stairs in that room at right angles to meet the existing stairwell. This would double the length of the stair case and so make it shallower ?

You'd still effectively lose the front right bedroom as you need headroom above the stairs as they rise up.

lincroft1710 said:

Why not put the stairs in the green area which would allow for a small bedroom to the front of the house?

The same issue - just gut feel rather than a measured design, but I don't think the stairs would drop sufficiently within the green space to give the required headroom - especially as there needs to be space for the revised doorway into the bedroom.  It might be workable to give just about enough space for a bedroom, but would also require a new structural wall on the ground floor.

GDB2222

I don’t think the plan can be correct. It shows the existing staircase as being around 1.6m in the horizontal direction. Since it must climb at least 2 metres, that’s more like a ladder than a staircase. 

Do you have a picture from the listing of what the staircase looks like?

As people have said, if you want a shallower staircase you’re going to lose a lot of space upstairs as well as downstairs.