I need to completely replace the existing staircase between the ground and first floors in our 120 year old terrace. The strings are the only thing that isn't absolutely knackered, and replacing those will be easier than stripping the paint off them. The stairs are far too steep to pass current building regs, but there's no room to reduce the pitch to below 42 degrees. So:
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Does a like for like replacement need approval? Can I replace parts one by one so that there's effectively not a new staircase, but an old one made of entirely new timber IYSWIM?
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At some point in the future, I'll need to replace the existing brick staircase into the basement with a timber one. The only place to put this is where the existing stairs are, with the same ridiculous pitch. How will approval work here?
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Ditto for an entirely new staircase from the first floor into the loft at some point, but this would be entirely new, and not a replacement. Above the existing stairs at the same pitch seems to be the only option.
So, what are the rules about replacing stairs with an excessively steep pitch, and about new stairs that have to have an excessively steep pitch due to the shape of the house? Do old houses get a by? I'm guessing not. The ground to first floor is the only one I need to deal with at the moment, but I'm curious about how the regulations will affect our future plans for the place.