Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Stairs renovation

Well, I got some extremely unpleasant news the other day. I had a professional stair maker (if that's the term) come in to give me a quote on replacing my stairs to the basement, as they are quite dangerous and have been an eyesore for a couple years now because we tore the carpet off them when I was in the midst of overhauling the TV/entertainment room, and relocating the elevator. Long story short, it looks like the previous homeowners just framed in the temporary stairs that the contractors built when initially constructing the house. So, they are an absolute piece of junk and have to be completely removed.

It's going to cost $2400 (before taxes) to have the stairs and railing built and installed. On top of that, my contractor friend just told me yesterday that it will cost his guys $1500 to take the stairs out, straighten the wall etc. etc. (I'll post some pictures of them so you can see exactly what I'm dealing with.)

Altogether, that's $4000 to replace approximately 12-15 flights of stairs, and that's not including what it will cost to stain them.

I just wanted to vent, but also to reiterate how important it is to have a professional inspector look at a house before you purchase it, and don't rely on a friend, even though they are a professional contractor, because things like this can be accidentally overlooked.

Anyway, it just really sucks and I'm rather pissed off.

Man, that is terrible. I don't know what else to say but I hope for the best outcome for you.

I have a few matches.

Yikes, hope it all works out for the better, at least you know they will be safe when it's all done.

Sucks!

Double Sucks!!

Ouch!! The four grand does include a jar of Vaseline, doesn't it?

I think I would get more bids on the job. ie. drop the professional stair maker and hire a hungry carpenter.

CAM: This time, I really do think you need the stair guy. Tearing out and rebuilding a stairway isn't for Joe Carpenter. That's why they were so poorly constructed in the first place.

I hate telling clients this kind of stuff--when what's behind/underneath will not allow a proper result w/o being addre$$ed. They're the only "dread goin' to work" days I really have, so I can't complain.

Being really good at what you do includes knowing when an expert is needed and when that guy is not you.

There's a big difference between a competent carpenter versus the people who just made due, cheaply. My dad was a carpenter, and I've seen him work. He built and or supervised all of the framework and stairs in a house I lived in for years. It doesn't take an expert to do everything in a house, including stairs. But, it does take experience. (That's where I'm laking, but I muddle through projects anyway.)

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.

One shouldn't assume that because one calls themselves a "professional" that they'll necessarily do a better job than anyone else. I'm presently converting my 3 bedroom home back to a four bedroom(originally) and it's amazing how "professional" the builders were. 2x4 studs with a 1" bend and 3/4" twist in it and others cut almost through and nailed together in 3 places to take out a huge bend...here's a novel thought: USE ANOTHER F'N 2X4!!! rooms out of square by 2-3", no shut offs on faucets to save $5, floors flat?? don't get me started....

:::...count to 10 slowly...that's it.....relax....:::

Yeah. It pays to get "a lot" of references and to check them all out before hiring someone you don't know well.

But, it looks like Cam's already got it worked out. I thought he was in the process of finding someone, but he's working with people he already has experience with in the past.

Yup, you're spot on there, Adrian. Unless it's not possible, I always use contractors etc. that I know, or family members/friends have had good experiences with.

A month ago I had my furnace cleaned by a certified Trane technician. He was an extremely nice guy, had all kinds of bad things to say about Direct Energy and their incompetent technicians, but when my mom went down today to see if I needed to change the filter on my furnace, there was no filter in my furnace; he never put it back in and it's been running for a month like that.

IDIOTS!

Yeah, bud, I know you're looking out for my best interest and appreciate your input.

Sometimes I wonder why I want to buy a house. Good luck, Cam.

Just look at your avatar Ken you have some very good reasons

It's probably a good time to jump into the housing market in the US right now...depressed prices, low interest rates...whatcha wait'n for bwaaahh!!

Thanks, Ken and everyone else.

I say if you have an elevator, just use put a firman pole in! Its fun and cheap for everyone!

Or a trampoline.

Or both

Yeah, but that climb back up can be a real drag. Especially if the pole has been greased.

And someone is carrying me on their back.....

It's a great suggestion seeing that an ex caregiver and good friend was a dancer/webcam girl. So it would be dual purpose .

Hmmmmm. The neighbor has one....