Hi...
Want to tear down the wall under the stairs to the basement. I have a house built in 1959.
We now want to open up the hallway by tearing down the wall to the basement and putting up a railing or something similar.
Just don't know if the wall supports the stairs. Does anyone know?
There was wallpaper on masonite and then wood paneling....
Want to tear down the wall under the stairs to the basement. I have a house built in 1959.
We now want to open up the hallway by tearing down the wall to the basement and putting up a railing or something similar.
Just don't know if the wall supports the stairs. Does anyone know?
There was wallpaper on masonite and then wood paneling....
The stairs I have encountered so far support themselves, meaning you build a staircase first and then a wall, so in our houses, it hasn't been a problem to remove such a wall. But of course, I can't see how it looks at your place 
We already found out that if it is load-bearing, removing it could cause the stairs to twist, and that might lead to cracks in the house....
Becoming more and more skeptical about whether we should really do it.
Becoming more and more skeptical about whether we should really do it.
I can't open the image :S
What is the house built of otherwise? You probably have a basement of concrete block I assume? So it would be natural to put in a "finished" staircase. But sure, you could first build a wall to attach the staircase to as well, but then it would require more than just paneling and masonite.
So tear off the panel and see if the staircase is somehow attached to the studs?
What is the house built of otherwise? You probably have a basement of concrete block I assume? So it would be natural to put in a "finished" staircase. But sure, you could first build a wall to attach the staircase to as well, but then it would require more than just paneling and masonite.
So tear off the panel and see if the staircase is somehow attached to the studs?
The stairs I have dealt with support themselves as mentioned, the stairs themselves are sufficient just like with a ladder. But of course, that staircase may have been built on site by someone who just placed steps between two walls, but you can see that if you remove the panel. The staircase cannot have the panel as a supporting part.