remodel stairway leading into basement
Helping daughter remodel basement. Stumped on how to tackle the stairwell going down to the basement. (one side along the foundation) Stairway treads are 36″ wide and only have a little space on each side. Of all the stairwells I have seem this seems to be typical. I am wondering how everyone makes these areas look great. Dosen’t seem that there is enough space to get rigid insulation and drywall along the foundation wall. Can anyone point me to a good source of info or supply me with some ideas.? Thanks
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Stairs are built this way when there is no intent at the time, of finishing the stairwell itself (aside from vinyl or carpeted treads).
Easiest/quickest way to do it right is to probably remove the steps and stringers, re-install the stringers with a 2 x 4 spacer flush to the lower edge of the stringer. Recut the treads and risers for the reduced length, and re-install them. Doing this will give 1 1/2" openings on each side. resaw your 2 x 4 furring to 1" thick, use 1" rigid insulation, cover with 1/2 drywall.
To maintain code width from wall to wall, do the same thing, but only high enough to attach skirtboards, and cap them off. That gives you you 36" code width above the skirtboard cap.
Only other way is to scribe skirts over EACH step. Takes a LONG time for that.
Dave
We remodled our basement a few yrs ago and faced a similar problem. You don't mention the type of home. Ours is a raised bungalow so has good sized windows. We wanted to make the basement feel less like a basement and more like just another level.
We toured new homes and decided we wanted stairs that curved into the main room in the basement from the entrance landing which in a raised bungalow is half way between the main floor and basement. We did this and it's great. We ripped out the old stairs and had custom built curved stairs installed going down and up.
I'm not sure I'd worry too much about insulated the exterior stairwell wall - I suspect the cost of any structural changes to move the stairs would far outweigh the energy savings.
Maybe a 1/2" of foam and 3/8" drywall to keep the wall surface temp up just a tad....
What is going to be the finish on the stairs? If its just carpet, you have a lot more leeway. with carpet, you could scribe your skirt to fit, it just has to be close, or, skip the skirt and scribe the drywall, in either case carpet will cover a small gap.
if its wood or vinyl, my preference would be to pull it all out and space the stringers away from the wall as posted above.
Consider your finished floor height both upstairs and in the basement before making your decision on which way to go. Very common after remodels to find individual risers that vary quite a bit. This is dangerous, and IMO should be reframed if any vary more than 3/8" anyway