House with steep steps to front door

[sarahburneraccount35]

My sister is considering buying a house on a hill with steep stone steps up to the front door. Everything else about the house is perfect, right area, right size, right price. She is worried about dragging a buggy up the stairs and receiving relatives with mobility issues. There are a LOT of steps - about a dozen then a change of angle and a further few - they are narrow, steep and awkward. It looks like they could be widened / made less steep but has anyone done this kind of renovation to make life easier? Or brought up babies in a house with silly steps? Thank you so much.

I have 6 wide, shallow steps to my front door. They have proved such an arse ache with the pram etc we are moving. There is no way I'd actively chose a house with steps ever again.

We had steps up to our London flat (we were raised ground floor over a basement with a separate entrance), which was challening with a CS and a buggy initially, but then OK. But since we moved out to this village, we know someone with a lovely Victorian house set high up off the road with steep steps up from road level who said she anticipates great difficulty in selling. Nothing that can be done about those, because the gradient from street to front door is so steep.

Another one with steps here - again about 6 or 7 fairly shallow, wide steps up to our front door, in to a porch where we can leave the buggy, then a full flight up to the first floor living space... And we're moving too. Only thing I'll miss is my own poorly-mobile complete arse nightmare relative not being able to visit much...! I've done my time with a small baby and could only anticipate things getting worse as they got older and more mobile.

Another thing to bear in mind is deliveries. I got moaned out at every single time.

Eek sounds like it's a major issue. Anyone done building work on steep steps? They snake up a front garden so I am hopeful they could adapt them to be less hellish, but they'd still be steps...

Yes I'd also second the deliveries issue. Yes I'm looking at you waitrose delivery man who tried to leave entire weekly shop on front step as I stood with 2 week old baby hanging off my tit under a muslin.............

The only adaptations I've seen are where they have those huge ramps zig-zagging up the garden. Cost a fortune, fuck ugly, would probably devalue house.

She'd have to get some quotes, but basically it's excavate out what's there, shore up either side, lay wider , longer steps.,or ramps in, any company experienced in ground work could do it, I'd say a few grand very max depending on size. She could even raise the ground height and make it much less steep.

It's easily fixable, but for a price.

She could even raise the ground height and make it much less steep.

but then there would be other steps to get to the raised ground height, wouldn't there?

I wouldn't I'm afraid. Not if she's in or will shortly be in a buggy needing phase of life. DD1 had to have most of her naps in the buggy as a baby, would have been impossible if we'd had lots of steps as she'd have woken up every time I got home. And buggy napping is even more crucial once you have 2 or more DCs.

No don't do it definitely a big no no.

Also would not buy on a main road either.
Hate traffic noise/ fumes etc.

I wouldn't. Even past the buggy stage,what if she had an accident and broke her leg? What if the steps ice over in the winter? What if a young child tries to tantrum on the steps because they don't want to go out? Mega mega hassle.

Thanks everyone seems the majority view is the concerns are real.

I would suggest ramps, maybe like these?

Could you post a link to the property on Rightmove.co.uk or would that be too outing?

IT doesn't sound like ramps will work
Ive lived in a place with steep steps and it was a rental but I still ended up regretting it. I think she should keep looking.

I have 25 steps up to my front door and have a 6 year old and a 2 year old. We keep pram in the car but our first house was tiny with no space for our eldest's pram so we were kinda used to keeping it in the car anyway. Steps are a pain at times but we have a lane at the back of our house which provides (almost) level access to the next street and has come in handy.