hi guys,
need some advices about to close the stairs to become store room. (don't know what is the correct term.... )
a) so how much will it cost & how it normally calculated? per sqft? per pieces?
b) any suggestion on how to do it (any attached pics are most welcome...)
c) any recommendation of contractors/carpenter at kajang/bangi area?

thanks for any advices...
please refer below picture.

I think the way of doing that is to remove the whole stair and re-construct by using concrete. then close the bottom of stiarcase by brick or partition to create a store room. This was a "big project" and i guess the cost must be around 10k to 20k depent on material using.

Another way is for the contractor to build plaster walls around it.

An experienced one will know how to do it without demolishing and reconstruct the stairs which will cost a bomb.

use drywall method...aka partition for the store, close up the staircase riser with matching timber plank, less than 3k i guess

wow...quite big project...i'm afraid that my budget should less than that...i would say RM5k only...

hmm...interesting...but i wonder RM3k is it for the whole staircase (U shape as per picture attached) or for one level/slope only...?

I guess you should get the contractor to visit your place to get a proper quote. Else you can just measure up with pictures and the contractor will be able to give you a rough quote.

Do you want to use the existing stairs? If yes probably will need plaster partition or wooden laminate partition. Else demolish the whole stairs and use concrete.

around 5k will do
have mine done last year

already give rough figures to 2-3 contractors (who done kitchen cabinet) but they said normally expensive and hard to be done...i don't know, maybe they don't want to do that kind of jobs... ...but still didn't invite them to my house yet, yes...maybe i should..

yes i want to remain the existing stairs...

mind sharing yours...?

to me, is really dificult to do by partition box up, because the worker need to fix the wood pcs by pcs to each step of the stair, and have to make sure your staircase is not (movable), usually staircase like yours when u go up and down, the metal support will have a bit shaking feeling, that may cause the plaster between partition and your staircase have a (crack line), unless u know about this and you done mind.
So, the best and nicer way to do for me is remove the staircase and build a new 1 by cement

I really think that you should look for a suitable contractor to do this work. Anything is doable, it just depends if the contractor want to do or not. At times they might just be too lazy to do so much of work to get it done.

Fatin's staircase looks really nice, i think by removing and doing a new cemented stairs will make it look so common. We don't get much of this type of stairs anymore!

haha...shazzac statement make me feel to think twice about to renovate it...

Actually the work is not difficult, only its cumbersome, you need to do up the frame/shell piece by piece, the store support doesn't have to depend on staircase, instead they can get the support from the wall n floor, just leave small gap between the staircase n the store room will be good enough. To closed up the whole frame you can use those ply, nailed them piece by piece after all the size are measured n cut. This is not messy job,only it take up a lot of time.

This post has been edited by Tohsan: Jan 7 2011, 03:41 PM

I tried to do the same thing last time. The contractor told me, he needed to put a tiang besi, from ceiling to floor to act as a support pillar for the wood. Anyway, by the way he talked, it didn't look that difficult for him.

Anyway, I ended up making a new concrete stair.. Roughly around 5k.

^^5K for a concrete staircase, not expensive at all.

I've done my one, you don't need any tiang besi at all.

kayu + papan rm500.
besi rm 500
labour for form work & besi 2 worker x 4 day x rm70/day = 560
concrete 2m3 + labour = 600
cement, sand,tiles + labour = 2000
total 4160

still ada untung

wow, 2 worker for 4 day can done o? nice job ^^

read carefully, concrete casting & tiling work item was separate out..

for formwork + rebar work, 2 worker 4 day already more than enough lor

before


after

wow...thanks dvinez for the pictures...looks like the cost is almost the same between using concrete or by using woods...

dvinez, your new stairs looks really nice! how much did you spend to convert it?

o.. this is change to cement base.. right?

This is how i m going to do it.See pics below.
I dun know how much it will cost but i m sure the carpentry labour ain't going to be cheap since
experience carpentry skill is needed.

this is exactly what i sugguest @ post #4

if use ply wood, do undercoat it with solvent base under coat paint 1st, then u can paint it over with normal wall paint without any problem later

well, on the (finishing) part, there is still need to do a lot of work, specially like the side wood with door, if close up like that, when you standing on the stiarcase, you will see the wood come out from the stiarcase on your left hand side, then another problem just like i mention, i think (not sure) the joining part from ply wood and existing staircase will have crack line after sometime, because this kind of stiarcase usually will a bit shacking.

thanks BIKA and skng03...just same what's in my mind..only dont know to visualize it like BIKA did...

around RM5k, with store below it.

I do think using concrete with tiles looks nicer, and it's way more solid and durable. No more hollow sound whenever you walk up the stairs.

I renovated my house and created a small storeroom under the stairs.

It seems like a small job, but actually, it entails alot of details, which can cost lots of money.

The cheapest way is to use partition boards, or brick up/plaster the walls. This way, you need to include cost of:
1. Brick/plaster work or partition board
2. Close the gap between the steps in the stairs
3. Cost of a door
4. Lighting point for the store

Covering the gap between the steps will do the job, but it wont be very nice. So, I opted for the full and proper way, which as it turns out, was very costly.

Chinese contractor quoted me RM4,000 just to brick up and redo the steps with concrete.

I also discovered that, to cover the steps is expensive. Using wood, it wld cost anything from RM4,000 (timber strips) to RM6,000 (solid planks). Tiles also not cheap, becuz contractor charges tiling work for staircase on a different rate, so workmanship alone will cost more than RM1,500.

Covering a step is charged on a PER STEP basis.

In the end, luckily I decided to use timber flooring for my first floor, and so it cost me RM1,500 to cover the stairs with timber...

With all is said, it is worthwhile if the storage is badly needed.

This post has been edited by lizziewong: Jan 21 2011, 03:11 PM

I am having this done with plywood as stair risers, and gypsum board to make the store room below. Carpenter quoted RM2,800. At first, I thought it was expensive, but after reading this thread, maybe it's cheap!

To those who have done it, care to share some pics? And comments? fa-tin, did you cover it up in the end?

why not just built cabinet with different size of compartment? You save space, easier to sort things, don't have to get into cramp store "room".

I thing that area is more for a storage system instead of a store room.

Hmmm. I guess it's more practical to have some sort of clever storage system, but then again, having a store room is practical too if you want to just dump stuff and boxes and things, although not so space efficient. It's down to personal preference I guess. For me, I want a clean look, so I just decided to box it up to look like it's cement wall.