Easiest way to demolish an enclosed staircase?

[Dave N]

I need to demolish a staircase in the next few days - the plan is to replace it with a staircase going in the opposite direction, to allow separate access to the third bedroom in a "2+1" bedroom Victorian terrace. I'm taking the opportunity to install a winder staircase going up from the rear reception room, so the new staircase will be less steep and will conform to modern building regulations.

The existing staircase is in the usual narrow Victorian terrace stairwall running across the house, enclosed on three sides, so both sides of the staircase are fixed to walls. Any suggestions as to the easiest way to demolish it?

[Bob Minchin]

Chainsaw down the middle of each tread & riser (start at the top!)

Bob

[Lobster]

Would a chainsaw really be a good idea though, with all the likelihood of hidden nails and screws?

David

[Dave N]

Hidden nails are a concern of mine too (I've [laboriously] started to hack away at the second from top riser to see what's there and there are nails in it in random places from the tread above). I guess the only other options are a large enough crowbar or a sledgehammer, unless I'm prepared to spend ages trying to saw through the staircase manually. I haven't hacked at the top riser since it looks like the joists supporting the landing have been held up for the last 130 years by a flimsy looking batten on the back of the top riser!

Looking at the underside of the staircase, it seems that there are no wedges, it's been nailed together, and yes it's all been plastered in. Looks like a tough one to shift, so any personal experiences or further ideas appreciated!

David.

[ARWadsworth]

Cold winter, Jack Nicholson and an axe?:-)

[dennis]

A sabre saw with a demolition blade will cope with nails and screws.

[John Rumm]

Reciprocating saw then - blades not easily damaged by nails and cheap enough to replace anyway.

Without wedges, there is probably not going to be an easy disassembly method.

[Dave N]

Looked more closely at the stairs today. Fortunately the nails can just be seen if you look carefully and scrape the paint away. Anyway, tried cutting across the tread then across the riser with my humble jigsaw and finished off the last inch or so on the inside of the tread with a hand saw. It wasn't too laborious and I managed to cut both sides and knock out the central area of an entire step in about 5 minutes. Didn't go any further as I need to use the stairs a few more times before demolishing them, but at the rate I was going I should have all the steps out in little over an hour. Then I guess there will be the fun part with the crowbar...

I have to be a bit cautious when removing the landing since the joists project into next door's understair cupblard (it's only a 4 1/2" party wall) - before anyone asks, his house is higher so the joists aren't supporting anything else, and in fact they're rather loose already! My neighbour has already covered up the things in his cupboard, and there'll be some making good to do there too.

Will let you know how I get on (should be doing the job on Tuesday).

David.

[Dave N]

Well I ended up doing the job yesterday, and it went smoothly. Dismantled the landing then used the jigsaw to cut through both sides of each step (working downwards, of course!). The strings came off quite easily, although I needed to phone a friend with a large crowbar to get the left hand string off the wall. In the end it took about 2 hours including dismantling the landing, plus another 2 hours to clear up the mess!

Here are a few pictures... Landing dismantled:

cut through: finally it's all gone: to everyone for the advice!

David.