cost of staircase rebuild and other queries from a first time buyer

I used soxco to completely rebuild two flights of stairs (new risers, new treads, refurbished the banister and decorative stuff) for 16k total.  They look amazing, don’t creak at all – but of course it wasn’t cheap.

nyteacher

in Brownstoner Renovation 12 years and 9 months ago

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pepvjnwizosknsq | 12 years and 9 months ago

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We have an accepted offer on a brownstone that has a lot of little repairs and a few bigger ones. I’m wondering if anyone can give me a general estimate on what they paid to have a staircase rebuilt. we have two that will probably need that. i’m shooting for good, solid stairs that are aesthetically pleasing… but nothing fancy. the house is nice, but not ornately detailed. thanks very much in advance!

brucef | 12 years and 9 months ago

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You can try your luck with the searcch feature on this site.There have been a number of quite detailed threads on this topic. Nevertheless, what I posted before is that some careful diagnosis is required before determining the proper repair. Typically, stair damage is caused by deflection in the joists that support the stringers. Or at least the stringers which are not fixed to the masonry wall. Typical symtom of this would be treads separated from wall with gap. Less frequently there is wear due to long use or poor original carpentry. Most important is knowing the degree to which the starting and ending floors are out of level. Let’s say the starting landing is almost level, and the top landing is sloped. Were the stairs rebuilt plumb, they would meet that upper landing crookedly. What we usually do is split the difference. As long as the slant is evenly distributed among the various treads, the eye won’t see it and it will not be a trip hazard. This is the problem with purchasing a factory (or even custom built) stair. If you install it plumb, it won’t meet sloped landings gracefully. You don’t mention if your ballusters and rails are original and worth preserving. Retrofitting old railings to replaced stairs is non-trivial. WIthout knowing your situation, I would ballpark 5-10K each.

cate | 12 years and 9 months ago

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There are firms that specialize in restoring brownstone/historic stairs. I got quotes from two about three years ago, and the estimate was something along the lines of $3,000 to rebuild, replace, and restore each flight. In my case, the actual stairs themselves had to be replaced (with new wood), though the existing rail and newel post could be reused. Please be advised that if your stairs are pulling away from the wall (and thus have fallen and are loose and making tons of noise), the likely culprit is some pretty significant settling or movement with the foundation somewhere else in the house. In our case, we discovered an offset of about three inches in the rear of the house, where the floor had actually broken off from the wall and fallen.

concernedcitizen | 12 years and 9 months ago

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We’d be happy to take a look. methodrestoration.com

slopegirl | 12 years and 9 months ago

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I’ve heard very good things about Soxco (used to advertise here) although we used my father in law, next time I would hire them

Erstwhile | 12 years and 9 months ago

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Try http://www.martyandersonandassociates.com/. They charge very little, like 1k for a total rebuild.