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Original poster

Has anyone moved a staircase in there renovations?

50 replies

MinimalistMommi · 11/03/2013 12:42

Talk to me!
We're thinking of having staircase moved but know we need to look into building regs etc. Don't know where to start, figure out who should do job etc (builder? Joiner?)
I'm clueless, help me.

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Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 09:27

Food Hmm that should have been 'door'

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Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 09:28

...And both the extra original doorways can be removed so each bedroom will only have one doorway again...

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musickeepsmesane · 12/03/2013 09:41

We are starting work on our stair and so far we have discovered definately involve building control. We have a good joiner, ask around. Word of mouth is best and a knowledgeable joiner will keep you right. Ours quoted building the stair, estimated cost of material £800-£1000 depending on finish + time. We got independant advice from a Building Consultant (more for peace of mind) I also got in touch with a large firm and was quoted £9000 Shock On google we found www.stairbox.com/ We are going with it being done by the joiner. Good luck!!

Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 10:05

How much did independent advice from building consultant cost music ? Seems like something we need!

Is your joiner doing everything? Taking out old staircase etc?

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Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 10:07

music do you know what your rough final price is going to be including all the labour etc?

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musickeepsmesane · 12/03/2013 10:10

It was £750 for us but we needed complete floor plans (before and after) as well as we were converting 2 flats back into a house. Also, he is doing the warrant for us. That is just because we don't have the time. tho I have the time to be on MN Yours would be a lot less. My joiner is doing everything yes. We are very lucky to have him, tho' he sighs a lot Smile

Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 10:16

Where would I find a building consultant Blush ?
And what is the warrant thing? Getting the building regs signed off is that what you mean?
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! Wish someone would just take this out of my hands and do it for me Grin

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GooseyLoosey · 12/03/2013 10:20

We had an architect - he was a disaster and had butresses and supports and God knows what all over the place. I pointed out that I had seen many "floating staircases" and the elderly joiner and I worked it all out. I found the joiner knew a lot more about how to make something work than the architect did!

Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 10:24

Goosey did your joiner help you with the building regs stuff? I'm really nervous and don't want to wreck my house!

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musickeepsmesane · 12/03/2013 10:31

Yes, the warrant is getting the regs signed off. You need a building warrant if the stairs are supporting anything. It costs about £75 depending on the cost of your work. Could be more, but unlikely. It used to be that any work on stairs needed a building warrant. I think that has changed now. My joiner recommended the building consultant, look in the phone book or internet. Are you new to your area because that makes word of mouth difficult. Put 'do I need a building warrant' in your search engine. Maybe put your council name on the search too. They have advice and guidelines. That way you are going to your council office with a little knowledge. That's what I did. Everyone is very helpful and it takes a lot of the worry out of doing work like this. The other option you have is to go to a local building firm and they will do everything for you. Easier but a bit more expensive. It means not having to co ordinate all the trades. Chances are, you will need an electrician, plasterer and decorator as well....

GooseyLoosey · 12/03/2013 10:41

He did a scale drawing for us and we did the rest ourselves. There was lots on websites setting out what was required and it was really very easy. Where we needed listed building consent we also dealt with that ourselves. We found the main thing was to get someone who was really good at the work and we could deal with the paperwork.

musickeepsmesane · 12/03/2013 10:52

I am glad Goosey said the architect thing! I am not a fan. I agree that the joiner knows more. I have twice tried architects and twice had to let them go. My DH is very good at the scale thing. Can't understand it myself! I am told it is very simple Confused Between the two of us and a good joiner, we got there doing our own plans in other projects. Stairs are new to me tho', bit scary. That's why we used a BC.

Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 11:14

Thank you both for your input, I will show DH tonight Grin
music stairs are scary to me and really I want to bury my head in the sand, but I don't think I will find myself a good joiner that way. We're not new to the area but at the same time I don't know anybody that has had any more then a bit of DIY done to their house so, really, I'm clueless. All I know is I want it signed off properly and I want a really good standard of work done!

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Tizwozliz · 12/03/2013 11:19

Building warrant is a scottish thing, whereabouts in the uk are you?

Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 11:20

We're in the south tiz I think the building warrant is building regulations here?

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Tizwozliz · 12/03/2013 11:28

Yes, building regs here. You would likely do the work on a building notice rather than a full plans application. Charge is likely to be more than £75 which is why i mentioned it. Cheapest building control charge in this area is around £150 and if based on cost of works likely to be more

Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 12/03/2013 11:36

Tiz thank you for letting me know. In the holiday I plan to walk over to council offices and ask to speak to someone in building control about building regs and moving a staircase and go from there.

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Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 21/04/2013 13:45

Update: So having talked to a lovely joiner who works for a company that builds staircases, I feel like I'm getting somewhere. So I'm getting a quote from the company on how much the actual staircase will cost.

I'm not sure how much experience he has of actually fitting staircases before though. If he took the job on he would be doing it with a carpenter. Not sure if carpenter has relocated and fitted staircases before either Blush

We're going to ask about building regs next week.
Anyone else doing staircase stuff at the moment?!

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Aria11 · 17/06/2014 13:58

Hi,

I came across this thread and is very useful. We are now in the process of buying a house and we want to have the staircase moved (it is currently in the middle of the property across three floors).
MinimalistMommi, did you finally have your staircase done? What did you think of the process? And if you do not mind, what was the rough cost at the end of this, including labour?

KateDavis · 17/06/2014 21:35

I'm also interested. We plan to rotate our staircase by 90 degrees but haven't got any further than the architect plans yet (we are making lots of changes to the property)

MillyMollyMama · 17/06/2014 23:29

I think that any drastic movement of a staircase you might consider employing a structural engineer just to make sure your plans do not damage the building if the original staircase is removed. How do you know it is not structurally vital in its current position? What will happen to the floors/walls if the staircase just gets ripped out? Is it supporting anything? We replaced a staircase a few years ago and used a specialist staircase company (carpenters) who knew about making a staircase to fit our very awkward space. DH is a Strucural engineer so they worked together and it is very nice too! You need to be aware of the building regulations requirements and fire door regulations too if the stairs are for a loft conversion.

Magpie73 · 12/07/2014 09:57

Hi MinimalistMommi. How did it all work out in the end? Our stairs currently run through the middle of our house, so we have a side entrance and then open the door and straight up the stairs. We plan on moving them to the side so a 90 degree turn. I've been told new stairs will cost about £3k but it's the rest of the work that I'm worried will escalate the price i.e. fixing wood flooring where stairs have been removed, replanning upstairs hallway etc. How much did your total cost finish up?

Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 13/07/2014 18:21

Hello everyone, yes the staircase was all done in December and it cost approx £3,000 for a solid pine staircase made by a joiner and then put in by a builder. We had plans drawn up to give to the joiner. We had to go through building regs with our council and it will get signed off once the stairwell is plaster because the handrail can then be fixed to the wall. Milly no worries about structural stuff here as the staircase was going in exactly same place here but simply reversed in the space.

Magpie we've still got bare brick walls so I can't give you a total finish cost! I wish it was finished LOL

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Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 13/07/2014 18:21

*plastered

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Original poster
MinimalistMommi · 13/07/2014 18:22

Aria the process was pretty stressful to be honest! I'm not sure I would want to do it again!

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