Remodel Help around Basement Stairs

8 years ago

Looking to redo the layout of our home. (see rough layout sketch below). Ultimately, we'd like to expand the kitchen to get more workspace and potentially turn the whole back of the house into a large master suite. The middle "Office" room is currently a waste of square footage that we would like to bring into the home as useable space. We would like to do this remodel without touching the two side guest rooms and full bath there. They're perfectly fine "kids" rooms, and we might need to live in them while the remodel is happening.

Questions/Options:

1. How much could it cost to relocate the stairwell to the basement behind the fireplace (entering from that hall next to the full guest bath perhaps). This would require cutting a new floor opening and sealing up the current opening. The stairs go to an unfinished storage basement, so they don't need to be pretty. The current stairs are perfectly functional and we would be open to reusing them if that's possible. The basement below is open space, and stairs could be moved with minimal repiping and wiring. To be honest, even if we could move them parallel to their current location but over toward the middle of the house, we could comfortably fit a larger island in the kitchen.

If we can move the stairs affordably, then we have more options for layout of the kitchen/living space. (Suggestions welcome!) If we cannot, then we were considering the below option. I know the cost of the below options (just the stair cost is a ?? to me), but other advice/ideas would be welcome!

2. If moving the stairs is too expensive, considering turning the "Office" into a hall along the staircase wall and laundry/half bath next to each other behind the fireplace. Then removing the half bath in the front of the house and opening all that up to expand the kitchen forward a bit. Reposition the closet in the "Office" to face the hall as a linen closet.

3. Converting the back of the house (current family room and master) into a large master suite with walk-in closet and double-vanity bath.

Most curious to answers to #1 above, but open to any suggestions about the layout of the remainder of the house as well.

Thank you!!

Featured Answer

localeater

8 years ago

Moving a staircase can be very expensive. It will depend on the structure of your house but it could be 50k.

If you want bigger kitchen have you thought of making dining room the kitchen, then making new dining area in office? Bigger master could come from existing kitchen.

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Comments (11)

Cam
Original Author
8 years ago
We have considered it, thanks. The concern is I don't really want to walk right into the kitchen/island off the front door. Afraid that might hurt resale down the road.
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User
8 years ago
You’re not relocating stairs. Ever.
AnnKH
8 years ago
Is your laundry currently in the basement? It would be great to get that to the main floor - but the office isn't the right space for it (too difficult to vent the dryer).

How about this:

- Master bedroom to family room

- expand master bath

- Master closet to office (perhaps with a hallway along the stairs, so you don't have to go through the kitchen to get to the bedroom)

- Dining to master bedroom space

- remove front powder room, expand the entry, and make a laundry room where the dining room is (possibly add pantry space too)

- I would leave the kitchen in the same place, but you could knock out the wall between kitchen and new dining (current master) to make an L + island, expending the L into the current master closet space
mark_rachel
8 years ago
I would swap the kitchen & the dining room. Having an open concept would help your resale more that hurt it for walking into the open kitchen. What do you walk into now? where is your front door?
amanda99999
8 years ago
Moving stairs would be expensive.

I wouldn't convert the back of the house - adding the current "Family Room" to the Master Bedroom - to make a larger master suite: all light from the back of the house would be blocked off in the main living areas, and there's no way to get outside. I think that would impact resale value more than having a kitchen at the front entry (you see that all the time where I live, as people combine dining room w/kitchen because smaller homes and additions too expensive).

Consider: (a) add existing kitchen to master suite (close up basement stairs entry - make the entry to it from the current office wall); (b) remove wall between office and 'family room' to make new large kitchen - which would not only enable light to come in from that side of the house into living areas, but nice access to the patio, bbq grill from kitchen, kids to run outside where you can see them from the kitchen.
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Possible affordable option:

There is a back hallway with hooks for jackets, below a shelf.

The kitchen isn't wide enough for an island with seating, so I drew a narrow work table--ap 24" deep. If you skip the work table, the base cabinets could be pulled out from the wall, to increase counter space.

GW discussions--deeper counters

Alternate layout with separate prep and clean-up zones, with dish storage near the DR:
sheloveslayouts
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Does your family park and enter through the door next to the powder?

Which area of the house gets the prettiest natural light through the day?
Cam
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi all! Thank you for your help.

We do currently enter from that side door that leads into the Family Room typically as the garage is in the back of the lot there. However, we are planning a deck extension off the back, so wouldn't be against relocating the entry to where the current master is. It would look something more like below.

Mama Goose - thank you for the recs and drawings! We feel (and our realtor agrees) that a second dedicated living space will really help with resale value one day rather than a giant master. While preferred of course, much larger masters aren't typical of the area. Below is a rough sketch (I'm no builder for sure). We will have a contractor measure out official plans to figure out which walls to close, where doors go, etc.

Any other thoughts/recommendations/cost-saving ideas?

Thanks!
User
8 years ago
Move. Gonna be cheaper to buy the house you really want than trying to make this one over.
Cam
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi Sophie - not in our area and school district. We've priced it out ad nauseam. But thanks for the input.