I am trying to sell my 160 year old stone built cottage. Had a few viewings but two viewers were put off by the stairs which are a bit tricky as the individual stairs vary in height and depth. Fine for kids but older people can struggle.
So would it be feasible to get the whole lot replaced? There are 8 steps leading to a half landing then a single step onto another half landing at 90 degrees to first then 4 more steps to top landing at 360 degrees to first short flight.
The stairs are fully carpeted so I have no idea of what is underneath so I imagine old timber, probably oak.
So what do you reckon and would £2000 be a reasonable budget/guess. Anyone have any contacts in Wiltshire/Dorset/Somerset region?
Thank you, David

 

Surely the stairs are part of the character of the cottage.

 

Yes and I am very conscious of that. But I would hope that if fully carpeted as they are at present it wouldn't be obvious that they has been rebuilt. Plus if it means that a sale is forthcoming then so be it.


David

 

I bought my lad a little two up two down which needed a new staircase due to damp. Ended up paying about 1200 for a DIY kit which was a pain to fit.

 

Yes anything that involves landings and returns is not going to be cheap..... especially considering in your cottage it isn't going to be a standard size and uniform throughout

 

Hope you find a buyer who wants to buy it as it is. It's such a shame to take out a character which adds to what it is; an ancient cottage.

There's a crooked old cottage on Mold-Ruthin road. It sits on the slope of the hill; all solitary- leaning more to the right than the left. Whenever I see it, I wish for it to remain like this- forever. I wouldn't ever want to see it any different. It has its own appeal.

Good luck with altering your stairs, anyway. Hope you find the best and reasonable quote for the job.

 

Just a thought, but you might do better with making a character feature of your very irregular staircase, by getting rid of the carpet and going for the exposed floor-board look instead. The cost-benefit breakdown would depend a lot on whether the woodwork is already in good enough condition for sanding and varnishing without large parts of it needing to be replaced first, but if the general look of the property and area is quite Olde Worlde, I would imagine this should encourage more buyers than it puts off.