ᐅ Wood and steel staircase or a concrete staircase covered with wood?

Hello fellow home builders,

Right now, the topic for us is the staircase. The options considered were a wood/steel staircase or a concrete staircase with wooden treads. We prefer a closed stairwell with a concrete staircase.

Now some questions regarding this:

• Does it make sense to have a precast concrete staircase delivered and install the treads yourself, sourcing the wood from a carpenter or online? We plan to paint the risers white. Has anyone had experience with this, or would you advise against this kind of manual strain? (The desired staircase is along these lines: Link removed by moderation; construction expert)

• I’ve read online that a concrete staircase clad with wood is not necessarily cheaper than an open stringer staircase. Has anyone had experience with this or received cost estimates?

• Many companies always ask if you want the basement stairs different or the same. What did you decide on? For a concrete staircase, wouldn’t it make sense to continue it all the way down to the basement?

• Our brother-in-law also has a staircase located in the living area, not in a hallway. However, he mentioned it can cause noticeable drafts. I would rather avoid moving the staircase into a hallway. Does it make sense to install a door at the bottom of the basement stairs to block the cool basement air?

Our house is a semi-detached, 2.5 floors (plus basement), 8 x 11 m (26 x 36 ft), staircase in a U-shape. Basically, a classic layout for a semi-detached/terraced house.

Looking forward to your input!

Best regards,
Winterkind

Winterkind schrieb:
We wanted to paint the risers white.

We were worried that dirt and other marks would show up there frequently, so we decided to go with wooden risers (like the treads).

Winterkind schrieb:
Sweat equity

It’s always the same: you save labor costs but, in return, you have to handle the work yourself as well as the planning and coordination effort. In my opinion, you can’t give a general answer.

Winterkind schrieb:
cheaper

As far as I know, the wood/steel staircase is more affordable than a concrete staircase. An open staircase (cantilevered) is a different matter, right?

We had a similar plan about 1-2 years ago. There was a stairwell opening of 160 x 160 cm (63 x 63 inches), which is already quite small, and a spiral staircase that was absolutely ugly and difficult to use. The quotes we received for a wooden staircase, fully closed (which was necessary because I didn’t want dirt constantly falling through, and I also didn’t want my pets falling through the open steps), were around 5000-6000 euros for 12 steps and a total height including the ceiling of 240 cm (94.5 inches).

That was simply way too expensive for us! You can buy straight staircases at hardware stores for about 300 euros, so I really couldn’t justify paying 20 times that just because the staircase had to be quarter-turn. Slightly more expensive would have been okay, but that much... no.

In the end, a craftsman removed the spiral staircase for 150 euros, and then we had a ladder in place for a year, which meant I always had to climb it carrying hot pots with my hands free... (makeshift kitchen downstairs, sofa where we ate, upstairs). It’s amazing what you can get used to.

Then I ordered a staircase from a carpenter, but through Ebay, and I measured everything myself. The staircase was unfinished, so it was affordable—made of beech wood, with risers, quarter-turn, and it made full use of the space, unlike the spiral staircase. The width was only 78 cm (31 inches), but since it was not a required staircase according to building regulations for going from the ground floor to the upper floor, it didn’t have to be at least 80 cm (31.5 inches) wide.

The cost was 1700 euros. I then stained (dark gray) and lacquered the staircase myself, which was actually quite manageable work despite all the sanding. The result turned out very nicely.

A friend who’s a carpenter installed it, and he was paid 300 euros. So altogether, it cost about 2300 euros—a fraction of what the full-service providers wanted!

By the way, a photo for illustration (old/new) — the staircase will be covered on the side with gypsum fiberboard, so the stringers won’t be visible afterward.

Bieber0815 schrieb:
We were concerned that dirt and other marks would be visible there repeatedly, so we decided to use wooden risers (like the tread) instead.

My husband had the same thought. I just figured that you rarely get your whole foot on the riser anyway since you mostly walk on your "toes" on stairs... at least I do =). But the idea is still there.

@Elina. Thank you for the detailed description. Everything sounds very interesting. It also looks really great, and the savings are quite significant. I will continue to consider the idea of installing the stairs myself.

Winterkind schrieb:

• Our brother-in-law also has a staircase located in the living area, not in a hallway. However, he mentioned that there is quite a draft. I would prefer not to move the staircase into the hallway. Would it make sense to install a door at the bottom of the basement stairs to stop the cool basement air?

We have a concrete landing staircase from the basement up to the first floor. It is located in the hallway, but that is essentially part of the living space.

The basement is noticeably cooler (I have no idea why people always criticize basements; I love my cool basement), but there is no cold air coming up—why would there be? Cold air stays down below...

When you go downstairs, just under the landing, the air feels different.

That’s my take on the matter.