You're using up less real estate with the existing.

Complete waste of 50K. It will add nothing to the house other than a expense with nompayback.

Of the two choices, I prefer the one with the landing because it is safer. Winder stairs are easier to trip on. But what is wrong with the original stairs?

We don’t like the current orientation because the stairs lead to the front entrance. Also, we often use the stairs to sit on to put our shoes on so we thought that if we could change the orientation we could put a bench there.

That plan makes sense to me. A bench would look nice in that spot. I spent a very reasonable amount of money at a rental property two years ago to turn the top 1/4 of a stairway (using winders, not a square landing). Hopefully your estimates will come back within your budget.

One other reason we have to renovate is that my husband attempted to renovate the stairs a while back. His idea was to cap the stairs using the existing orientation. However, he didn’t know what he was doing and our stairs are ruined. There’s no railing and about 10 of the steps are sanded down. The over hang of the risers on the left side has been sawed off. The only way I am able to get my husband on board with a professional to take over is to have something done that he 100% knows he can’t do himself.

So wider steps or landing at bottom turn? What makes most sense?

Landing at the bottom. Curvy steps are tougher to navigate.

Landing. No winder stairs.

My house came with stairs like in your drawing "B" with the triangles. They are a pain to walk on, even difficult. Vacuuming the triangle means you have to use the little attachment to get into the angles, and carrying things up and down the stairs means you have to navigate the triangles with something heavy or bulky in your arms. What if you need to install furniture upstairs or remove it - how do you turn that corner stepping on the triangles. These are my real life experiences. To you and anyone else reading this thread with a similar question, avoid stair triangles. However, unlike you, I am not willing to spend the multi-thousands to change my stairs. The furniture issue will also happen in your "A", but "A" is better than "B".

Me, I would fix the stairs but keep them as they are originally, just MHO. You talked about facing the stairs as you enter the front. Now the hall toward the living room will be narrower. Hard to know if that is a problem since I can't see dimensions. Maybe do a mock up by hanging a sheet or cardboard to see how it feels.

Hire a Pro to fix what was broken. And leave the configuration alone.

Sophie, regardless of the cost or increase in value that I will or will not gain, I have to get the stars done. Do you have any constructive feedback specifically relating to the landing vs. wider steps options?

choose the configuration easiest for the EMT guys to get a stretcher up to the second floor, and down again with a loved one on it. or a fully equipped firefighter to go up fast. for you to vacuum. for movers to take something big up or down without gashing the wall. for you to find your way down in the dark cuz the power is out. all of those things, keep in mind.

Live wire oak - my husband is not in board with hiring a pro and keep the same configuration. This had been a long time back and forth and I finally have him on board with getting a pro. The question is not about should I change the configuration as that is not an option in my case. The questions is landing vs. wider steps.

There's no question the stairs were better as they were before. A "sweeping" effect and an open stairway is what you see when you enter. If you turn the stairs to the side, what are you going to see? The sides of the spindles? Yet another closed off space/wall? And people coming down the stairs have a wall right in front of them? I am certainly no expert, but I've read enough about stairs to know that there are building codes, permitting, and a host of things you may not have thought of. The thought to put in "winders" on a main staircase, as a potentially *better* option, means that you are well in over your head. That is understandable.

I would fix the stairs, forgive your husband for knowing no more about stairs than you do, and buy a $150 bench for outside the front door to help you with putting on shoes. Fix your stairs the way they were, and start looking for a new house. That's what I would do.

Wait until you get quotes from a real Pro, not a Chuck in a truck. If he wouldn’t spend the massive money the first go around, what makes you think he’ll spend it now?

Even replacing like with like will be darn expensive. There is a reason that stairs do not get changed. It requires structural work on the first and second floors both. It requires redoing/patching floors on the first and second floors both. It requires an actual Pro to design this, as in an architect.

Stairs are tightly regulated by code for safety. They require plans, permits, and inspections. Or you just ruined the value of the the house and made it unsellable.

And better hope your himevinsurance doesn’t want to do an inspection, as has been happening with more frequency. That halfass giant safety risk in their face will have them giving you 30 days to fix, or cancel you. Your homeowners gets canceled for cause, and you’re not insurance to anyone without that cause fixed. Then your mortgage company gets notified, and they’ll call it.

You don’t mess with stairs unless you know what you’re doing.

There is no payback for that massive expense. Ever.

If your husband won't read these responses, then you will need an architect, first. That would be your first stop. Maybe spending some $$$$$$ on an architect will help him see the light. And contact a real estate agent in your area to come talk to you both.

I personally like the original option the best but out of the other two, I would go with the landing. Have you gotten quotes for the stairs yet. Even if it seems like a small change, the cost for changing the orientation can be quite significant. When we were contemplating doing something similar, our quote was 50k.

If your goal is a "bench", I would leave the orientation alone (have the landing where it currently sits) but get rid of the SWEEPING curve. In other words, straighten it out.

That will give you enough room on the wall to add a bench.

But here's the REAL fun: as SOON as you change the foot print, you need NEW FLOORING. Sigh. This might be a thing you look forward to....especially if you HATE the entrance/hallway flooring. It will PUSH YOU to change out the flooring. This adds $$$$ to your renovation budget.

Changing the foot print of the stairs could start a "whole home" renovation. So be aware of opening Pandora's Box. If you are LOOKING to change EVERYTHING on the main level, then you BETTER get a designer in their to help create the look you are hoping for.

If you do this piece by piece (as in "Oh God! Now we need new flooring!") it will turn into a money pit and one big mess (design wise). You will want to get ahead of the project instead of being dragged around by the hair kicking and screaming.

Of the two options you’re considering: A.

BTW: I’d like to change my stairs, too, which are very much like yours except they go straight up, no turns. However, I have one advantage you don’t appear to have, which is that I know exactly how my newly configured stairs would look and function in real life. (A neighbor, who built “my house” a couple years after mine was built, modified some things including the staircase design.)

Got pictures. What you have might be fixable.

My house actually came with your option A; we changed them to your Before. The house has 8FT ceilings and the landing made me feel like I was hitting my head. Is your stair space open? that may help you decide what's best.

Do not put winders in. It is inevitable one day either you or someone else will step down in a “short” part of winder, find it to be too short, and slip/fall.

The new stair will have to meet the current building code. The winders would not be allowed in virtually every state in the US.

The new stair only has one more riser and tread than the old one. Are you sure the new risers and treads meet the current code?

How about Option C? Marriage counseling

Redoing the stairway layout is a very expensive way to indulge hubby's fantasy that a pro isnt needed . You would be better served by spending some money on a pro to repair the existing stairs and spending a similar amount to take yourselves on a nice vacation while the work is being done. Changing the staircase is an incredibly expensive change for limited benefit.

I wouldnt want to pay the price necessary to hire the expensive guy nor would I want to take a chance on anyone who thinks that will be an easy job. Maybe I should say that I wouldnt trust anyone who doesnt take a look and then run the other direction.

"I wouldnt want to pay the price necessary to hire the expensive guy nor would I want to take a chance on anyone who thinks that will be an easy job."

I must be the "expensive guy". I quit bidding stair work because I never got the job. It's a notch below boat building.

I finally figured out you meant to type "winder" instead of "wider" steps.

This is the central feature of your house and apparently you can't turn back so figure out the best solution, bite the bullet, and pay for it.

So, with winders and cost off the table, what is left?

I don't think the right angle turn at the bottom is much of an improvement on the original stair and there doesn't seem to enough space to do it well. But without photos its impossible to know for sure. My instinct is to avoid complicated railing turns and keep the original stair even if you have to completely rebuild it. Unless, of course, the original stair its too steep. Just find a good stair builder and ask if he can do it.

It would help to draw the stair using the normal drafting convention of a diagonal cut 3ft above the floor and draw what is below the cut. The upper part of the stair would be dotted. Then we could understand what is on the lower level below the stairs and visualize the design. What is the width of the stair and the hall. What are the dimensions of the treads and risers? What is the floor to floor dimension?

Since your hubby screwed the job up in the first place I would not give him a vote but that said I like the original placement of the stairs I love a nice wide satircase when you enter a house that IMO is a much nicer feel

There’s no railing and about 10 of the steps are sanded down. The over hang of the risers on the left side has been sawed off.

The 'no railing' is a Big Deal. Orthopedic surgery isn't cheap.

I don't see what the problem is with sanded down steps.

The sawn off risers sounds fixable.

I would keep the original configuration of the the stairs.

#1 reason is because one turn is bad enough. Two turns is infinitely worse. Think moving dressers and mattresses up stairs with bends.

#2 reason is that this can be a very costly endeavor.

#3 reason is that when you rebuild stairs, they have to comply with current code. That can open a whole can of worms; you don't want to go there.

#4 reason is that changing the stairs will eat into your square footage and adding a shoe-putting-on-bench will eat up more space, be in the way, add something else to clean around and people will still use the stairs to put their shoes on because it's easy and old habits die hard.

Add some pictures and maybe we can help you figure out a way to repair what you have.

Have you priced the cost of adding a new entry in front of the old entry hall and leaving the steps aimed in the same direction -- the original straight path to the existing entry/hall -- just NOT have the steps different widths.

You will not like two angles in your steps when carrying a laundry basket or other large items up or down them. As someone else mentioned, it will be a problem for an EMT to get a gurney up/down them as well..

This is what I’m working with guys. Like I mentioned before, if keeping the original stairs and capping them the hubby has refused to get a contractor.

Thanks for the photos. Option A is the obvious winner that fits your wishlist and the space. Apparently you are signed up for replacing the flooring at the same time which is great.

CLYDE

Little Bill come out of Kansas and Texas, boys.

He worked them tough towns.

CHARLIE

Just wondered. Anybody could be scared.

CLYDE

Well, he wasn't scared, boys. He just ain't no carpenter

Unforgiven 1992

As a realtor I wholeheartedly agree with Joseph on using up real estate. Your foyer is going to get tight. Additionally you will never see one cent of return on this enormous expense. Suggest you fix what you have, update the cosmetics, and you'll have a beautiful space.

He doesn’t need to call a Pro. You call one. It’s your house too. Allowing that to exist and him to ruin your investment is insupportable. You can’t live with that. Nor should you have too. If he is that pig headed a and ruinous, that’s a bigger issue that definitely says marriage counseling. That’s not a livable existence long term if he “doesn’t allow” you to make equal decisions as a partner.

"Do not put winders in. It is inevitable one day either you or someone else will step down in a “short” part of winder, find it to be too short, and slip/fall."

"The new stair will have to meet the current building code. The winders would not be allowed in virtually every state in the US."

Winders certainly are allowed in virtually every state in the US, but they aren't your grandmother's winders. No longer are the treads allowed to pointedly die into the Newell post/apex, essentially creating a 28" high riser:

Yes:

https://www.hardwood-lumber.com/wood-stair-parts/

When I said, " the winders" I was referring to the winders in the OP's drawing where the winders shortened the total run of the stair by 20". Obviously, winders meeting the new code requirements would be allowed but that would only save about 2.5" in the total run of the stair compared to the landing in the OP's other drawing so its not really a feasible design solution.

It might be useful where it was helpful or necessary to shorten a stair 2.5".

The incredible space saving winders of the past are long gone.

OP I would block off the floor where your new stairs will be with tape and see if you really want to walk around them all the time. I really think your best layout is your current one. Who wants to walk into a home straight into a railway you have to walk around?

I must be missing something really important.

I see six unoccupied feet for a bench, next to the existing stairs.

Well, it’s clear you have to do something. As is, it’s not sellable and if your homeowners insurance company or mortgage holder saw it, they’d throw a fit. Just pick the cheapest solution, but get someone who knows what they’re doing and can return your home to code. Do this with urgency. Your current situation is untenable.