Where to drop basement stairs???

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I live in a small Victorian in SF. We could really use the space in the basement to expand our home, but there is no staircase connecting it to the main floor. We hired an architect, but his idea to move the bathroom to the middle of the house and bump out the back of the house to achieve a stairwell will be prohibitively expensive. He also suggested dropping spiral stairs from our living room or dining room, but I don't like those suggestions. The obvious place, next to the current stairs up to the two attic bedrooms, wouldn't work because the staircase would land in the middle of the garage space (required by SF rules and also in use daily for parking). Looking at our floor plan, are there other (hopefully better!) possibilities? I would be fine moving the laundry to the basement (two squares across from bathroom).

Featured Answer

palimpsest

8 years ago

I'd think about putting it there and the laundry if that's the only way you can afford to do it. Maybe you could at least make a light well in it to add something to the kitchen and basement.

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Comments (12)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
8 years ago
"Prohibitively expensive" and "San Fransisco" are synonyms, not antonyms. Pay up and do it the way your architect proposed, please. You'll probably get your money back when you sell.
Jane
8 years ago
Can’t you flip the parking to the other side
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K C
Original Author
8 years ago
No, alas -- we're on a hill so that's the only side with a parking cut and an angle that allows a car to get into the garage.
User
8 years ago
There is no magic. Anything to do with stairs is prohibitively expensive anywhere. Add in the most expensive real estate in the USA outside Manhattan, and whatever you touch starts at 100K for the most basic thing.

Give up your basement living idea entirely, or do what your architect suggests. He is the on site expert.
Judy Mishkin
8 years ago
i would counter that in SF you can't afford NOT to have all of your square footage in use. do what your architect suggests, if the market doesnt turn pear shaped you'll earn it back.
PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
8 years ago
Is there a problem putting stairs under the existing staircase using the same footprint? That's where basement stairs usually go in the reverse configuration.
Judy Mishkin
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
OP said that that is the garage side of the house, in the basement.
PRO
Flo Mangan
8 years ago
Yep, stairs are very expensive and new code requirements probably dictate certain specifications. I think your architect has it right. Can you go "up" and create multi-purpose room to expand living space?
K C
Original Author
8 years ago
Can't go up but it sounds like our architect's solution is probably the best. I just wish it was even remotely in our budget...

Thanks, everyone, for the help!
palimpsest
8 years ago
What's be next to the laundry room on the left?
K C
Original Author
8 years ago
That's an old scullery closet. We put in a sink, dishwasher, and wall oven. But it's an odd space. That's where I wanted to put the stairs, but my architect said it didn't make sense to have the back of the house dominated by a bathroom on one side and a stairwell on the other. I think he's right, but it would be a less expensive solution.