Can I remove 1 step or all steps below a quater landing from a staircase?

[Sunil237]

Hi folks,

 

Really enjoyed reading posts in the forum so far but I'm at the point of asking questions for my own renovation works!

 

My reno project is starting soon and I am deciding whether to rip out my concrete floor and redo it with ~250mm PIR or just add ~150mm PIR to the existing floor and make some alterations. I would like some advice to see if what I am thinking is feasible and if anyone has any advice on how to best go about it

The current staircase is shown in the pictures attached. I am just waiting for completion so I won't have access to the 

 

1) is it possible to remove a single step from the bottom and essentially move the newel post to the new location?

• any advice in doing this?
• any words of caution or negative impact i might see with the staircase after this?

2) is it possible to remove or alter all the bottom steps and quarter landing to look like the final image attached?

 

Thanks,

Sunil

 

 

[kandgmitchell]

So that staircase has two "flights", the upper one and the lower one separated by the quarter landing. Treads in a flight should have the same rising and going. This reflects that you build up a rythmn when using a stair and an odd tread will cause you to trip. So, you could remove a tread from the lower flight but then you would have two risers and not three with each riser being just too high. You could swap the landing and lower flight for winders.

 

I was interested in your idea of adding 150mm PIR over the existing floor, covered by presumably timber sheet material. Surely that will make all your doors 170mm shorter, put the bottom of the radiators on the floor, alter that under stair wc and create a step at the front door etc etc? All to make the current stair look like the desired picture. Sounds like a lot of work to me!

[Temp]

Perhaps check if the glass would need to be changed? There are complex rules on glass below a certain height needs to be toughened glass. I forget the details.

[Sunil237]

I had some advice from a builder that if I were to raise the floor heigh internally then the existing DPC wouldn't work and I'll eventually get damp rising internally.

He suggested to go ahead with ripping out the concrete and rebuild the floor