Moving a staircase

[Ronsil]

Hi all,
Just after a bit of advice/help at the moment.
Our staircase comes down into the living room, it is a 1980's house and all in our area seem the same.
The staircase in the living room makes the room feel very small and hard to heat as all the heat goes up the stairs.

We would like to switch it round so it comes down the opposite way.

The house has had an extension before our purchase which means the kitchen is no longer behind the staircase.
We now have a large dining room and the half behind the stairs is not used at all.
Ideally we would like to switch it round the other way so it comes down in to the dining room.
This would then give us a much bigger living room.


The existing stairs is on the main external wall and would be when switched so I believe it is possible and not to huge of a job, although we are well aware it is by no means easy and will cost a fair amount.
I also understand the new landing area would need to be supported which I believe you can do by building in hangers (I could be wrong just logically thinking)

I wondered if anyone could give a rough idea of how much you think this might cost. Is it too much from a DIY perspective!?
I am happy to get someone in to do this but also not sure if I need a builder or carpenter or both!

I have attached a few photos which might help hopefully.

Any advice you can give would be great we just do not know where to start.

Thank you

 

[johnny2007]

If it is a straight run and there's no obstruction on the wall (pipes, chimney breast, corners,etc), a carpenter would do it in a couple of days.
It's possible that that wall halfway under the staircase is supporting something, so needs assessing.
All redecoration would come after carpenter has gone.
Doable in no more than a couple of days.
Staircase comes off in one piece, but walls needs chiselling.

 

[Ronsil]

If it is a straight run and there's no obstruction on the wall (pipes, chimney breast, corners,etc), a carpenter would do it in a couple of days.
It's possible that that wall halfway under the staircase is supporting something, so needs assessing.
All redecoration would come after carpenter has gone.
Doable in no more than a couple of days.
Staircase comes off in one piece, but walls needs chiselling.

Thank you very much. That makes sense.
The half wall under stairs appears to be a thin plaster wall so I don't think it does support but would get someone to check.
I will try and enquire with a carpenter locally.

Thanks again.

 

[^woody^]

No estimate on here is going to help, however good the price may sound. There are too many variables for that type of work.

It's not a two day job.

Also there are building regulations and fire safety issues, so you need professional advice on that, not just a builders quote on what he thinks you can do.

 

[Ronsil]

No estimate on here is going to help, however good the price may sound. There are too many variables for that type of work.

It's not a two day job.

Also there are building regulations and fire safety issues, so you need professional advice on that, not just a builders quote on what he thinks you can do.

Thank you,
who do I get to do this then, who would have this knowledge and be able to carry out the work?

Thank you.

 

[^woody^]

There are good and knowledgeable builders out there. Your problem is finding them. A good test of any builder is if he mentions any sort of regulations that may be required with the work he is quoting for - unprompted would be great, but even if asked and he knows about regulations that's a good sign.

Otherwise, it's a building surveyor or an architectural technician to advise- no plans are needed but advice about regulations is.

It may be that building regulations or fire safety are not impacted, but you need to know that and need to be able to trust that the person who tells you that is qualified to tell you.

For the builder's work, there is a lot of messing about with this, and getting the old flight out and a new flight in on the same day so you can get upstairs is a challenge. There needs to be proper plan, things to go to plan and enough people there to make it happen should it not go to plan. I would not believe anyone you tells you they will start on Monday and you will be able to get up the stairs to bed on Tuesday night.

 

[Ronsil]

There are good and knowledgeable builders out there. Your problem is finding them. A good test of any builder is if he mentions any sort of regulations that may be required with the work he is quoting for - unprompted would be great, but even if asked and he knows about regulations that's a good sign.

Otherwise, it's a building surveyor or an architectural technician to advise- no plans are needed but advice about regulations is.

It may be that building regulations or fire safety are not impacted, but you need to know that and need to be able to trust that the person who tells you that is qualified to tell you.

For the builder's work, there is a lot of messing about with this, and getting the old flight out and a new flight in on the same day so you can get upstairs is a challenge. There needs to be proper plan, things to go to plan and enough people there to make it happen should it not go to plan. I would not believe anyone you tells you they will start on Monday and you will be able to get up the stairs to bed on Tuesday night.

Thank you very helpful.
I will look into this and first find someone who can properly advise on regulations