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Hello
I live in a former apartment building that we now use as a single-family home. Originally (since 1951) it consisted of two apartments each with two rooms and a kitchen, each 75 sqm plus a basement. The staircase is located in one corner of the house with a stairwell of about 2x2 m + a small hall on each floor of about 2 sqm outside the old apartments.
The house would be much improved if the stairs (from basement to level 1 and further to level 2) could be repositioned further in and the old staircase with hall could become a large entrance plus a bedroom on the second floor.
But now to the actual question.
There is a space that currently consists of a closet on each floor which could possibly accommodate a new staircase. The space for the staircase is basically the same size as the old one.
The problem is that the house has cast concrete floors + wooden joist floors with insulation between each floor. Can you cut (professionally cut) new stair openings without compromising the structure? The house has external walls and internal walls of 30 cm and 20 cm lightweight concrete respectively. The basement has cast internal walls and brick external walls (regular concrete blocks, not lightweight). No load-bearing wall would be affected.
I understand that it is difficult to answer, but mainly I want to know if it is worthwhile to even proceed with a constructor/builder or if I should just abandon the idea.
/ Best regards LOB
I live in a former apartment building that we now use as a single-family home. Originally (since 1951) it consisted of two apartments each with two rooms and a kitchen, each 75 sqm plus a basement. The staircase is located in one corner of the house with a stairwell of about 2x2 m + a small hall on each floor of about 2 sqm outside the old apartments.
The house would be much improved if the stairs (from basement to level 1 and further to level 2) could be repositioned further in and the old staircase with hall could become a large entrance plus a bedroom on the second floor.
But now to the actual question.
There is a space that currently consists of a closet on each floor which could possibly accommodate a new staircase. The space for the staircase is basically the same size as the old one.
The problem is that the house has cast concrete floors + wooden joist floors with insulation between each floor. Can you cut (professionally cut) new stair openings without compromising the structure? The house has external walls and internal walls of 30 cm and 20 cm lightweight concrete respectively. The basement has cast internal walls and brick external walls (regular concrete blocks, not lightweight). No load-bearing wall would be affected.
I understand that it is difficult to answer, but mainly I want to know if it is worthwhile to even proceed with a constructor/builder or if I should just abandon the idea.
/ Best regards LOB
Byggnadsingenjör
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If your slab is cast-in-place, the chance is greater that you could make the modification than if it consists of prefabricated concrete elements. This is because cast-in-place constructions are often over-dimensioned so that any problems during casting do not jeopardize the strength of the finished slab. Prefabricated concrete is cast in manufacturing-controlled factories where material usage is minimized to reduce transport and handling costs. In any case, the new hole will need to be relieved in some way, e.g., with steel columns and beams. I think you should contact a structural engineer who can look at your house and determine whether it involves a simple or more radical intervention. There is no doubt that it is feasible. The question is what it would cost in the end.