Architectural Designs

How much would it cost to build a staircase that doesn't already exist ?

Right now I live in a ranch style home with an unfinished basement. We plan on finishing the basement, but realize that the staircase is in an undesirable location. As it stands right now, you would have to walk through the entire house, through my laundry room, then down a very steep staircase. I have a location in mind (halfway between my living room and kitchen). There's a closet there right now....kind of in the middle of nothing. I would like to know about how much this would cost or if it would be too hard to do. Any idea ?

Public Comments

1. There's no way for me to estimate a cost without seeing the place, knowing where the bearing walls might be, seeing the routing of plumbing and electrical utilities, and knowing your taste and your budget. I'm currently building a staircase myself, out of scrap, give-away, and scavenged materials, that won't end up costing anything! (Using a hand saw, I don't even have to use electricity!) If the closet space you're intending to convert provides a wide enough space for the staircase, you might be all right, but check to see where the supporting structures are in the framing of the house. If a wall you might remove is a bearing wall, you'll have to install a beam to provide support for what's above it, and suspend that beam on posts that have good support from below. Your best bet would be to call two or three remodeling contractors. With the economy suffering right now, you should be able to find someone to provide you a free estimate on the job. Maybe they can give you ideas, too, as to alternative plans, less expensive ways to accomplish what you want, etc. A stairway, if you haven't built one before, might be more challenge than it's worth as a do-it-yourself project. There are building codes to adhere to, material requirements and load stresses, and much calculating and precise measuring to do, to get proper angles and clearances and good support for the stairs. There are multiple aspects to building a stairway, from proper framing and structure, all the way to the finish work that will make the functional addition also beautiful and appealing to use. Maybe a local contractor -- especially one that might be recommended by someone who has appreciated their work -- would be a good contact to make!
2. Total costs (materials plus shipping and labor) for installing a straight, return or L-shaped stair can run $1,300 -$7,000 or more. Depending on you choice of materials, (with pine being the cheapest of the wooden stairs) to complexity of the project and availability of labour. To do what you've talked about would involve cutting a stairwell in the floor, trimming out the stairwell and fixing the stairs in place. Nowadays having a set of stairs manufactures is not as big a job as once was because the specialist manufactures use hi-tech machines to cut the materials to specifications relatively quicky. You can buy off the shelf so to speak, stairs of the cheapest materials, relatively cheap. Without looking at the site and going just on what you've stated to buy the pine stairs and cut a stairwell, then install the stairs would take 3 days at tops, running you about $3000 to $4000 depending on the complexity of the project. If any load bearing walls need to be built, you'd be looking at $4000 to $6000.