Cat, the guys that are removing the stairs and doing all of the prep work (my friend) are very competent contractors. They've done a lot of work for me, including relocating my elevator, which isn't a small job on its own. When I contacted Neil and told him I wanted to do my stairs, he said that he would bring over a gentleman from the company that they use to build stairs when doing renovations. Neil is an amazing guy (extremely nice), and would do them himself if he could, but he won't touch them, and he feels bad for me.
There are so many things that are wrong with the current design of the stairs (the main thing being that they are extremely short and steep), which is why it's so expensive. Basically, here is what the end result will look like (minus the slate, unfortunately, which is the way I wanted to go originally but can't due to cost now).
In order for the stairs to meet code, they have to include the gradual turn at the top, which costs an extra $400. My stairwell looks identical to that, and the only difference is that there will be a continuous railing along the left side (looking at the picture), starting right at the door and continuing around the corner and down the side wall ($400).
I went to take a picture with my Canon G3, and the damn thing is broken! My mom then went to take a picture with my Samsung Galaxy, and the freaking battery was dead! It's been charging for a while so I'll get my caregiver to snap a couple when she comes in.
