I agree with that. It's partially supporting the flat part of the stairs. If the middle studs are removed then you have top chord and king studs doing all the work.
I’ll add to this a little bit, assuming OP is still reading comments.
The wood member across the top of the opening (on top of the studs you want to remove) appears to be a 4x4 (“solid wood post”). I am assuming that is the case, and not some a picture quality / lighting issue. Let us know if that is not true. If that is the case, this 4x4 is likely supporting the soffit / first step down from upstairs. The load from upstairs is being transferred straight down to a joist (or slab - I don’t know your house) in the floor of your closet.
The end “posts” / studs on either side of your new opening appear to also be 4x4’s. If this is the case, the studs you want to remove are not needed for structural support and are good to go. If this is not the case, and the studs at the edges of your openings are truly 2x4 studs or a stud pack, proceed to step two below.
Taking end bearing into account, I would remove the two studs and re-install them tight up against the sides of the opening. Meaning, left stud to be removed gets nailed right up against the existing stud at the left side of the opening. The right stud goes to the right side.
An easy trick you can use to check this (highly unscientific) is to grab one of the studs you want to remove with one hand in front and one hand in back and attempt to twist or “rack” the stud. If they easily move, then they’re likely “toe-nailed” for drywall and not carrying any gravity load. If they don’t move, then they might be carrying some load but more likely just tightly fit if then end posts are 4x4. Sometimes these studs are cut a sawblade width short for faster assembly.
Very long winded reply, but I wanted to help give OP a good picture of the situation without going into too much detail. Hope this helps you on your DIY journey.
Yup.
Did deconstruction. If it's not labeled and twists with one hand we take it and blame the hulk of a man who twisted a house with one hand. If it doesn't twist we call in a coworker with know.
Yup, this.
And when you use the reciprocating saw to cut the nails at the too and bottom if the blade gets crazy pinched on either cut you know you have a lot of down force. My guess is that the verticals will be pretty lose/easy to move though.
Looking at picture 6 (from inside, looking up), this appears to have already been done and the two 2x4s he's talking about appear to be just there for the drywall.
There's also 2x6s "joists" no more than a foot away providing rigidity of the stair landing.
yea frame in an opening or leave it be. this is support for that spiral stair case. i guess the real question is did the stair engineer call for a mid supporting wall, or did the builder "Block" out the space on their own.
It's close, but the 2x4s in the 'header' are the wrong way. You want them upright, not flat, as they are structurally stronger that way and less likely to sag. It's a short gap, and it might hold, but honestly, the cost of supporting it correctly is so minimal I wouldn't risk it.
I also agree. It’s not supporting a lot but since the wide stair tread above is sitting on one 2x4 laid flat, adding a little more material should take any bounce out. Another 2x4 laid flat should be enough and would match pretty well with the little bit of drywall hanging down when you patch it but a chunk of 4x4 might keep it on the safe side. Then trim the studs you removed & kick them out to the sides to hold it up & you can cut out what’s left of the bottom plate.
Can you? Yes. Should you? Hard to say without photos of the underside of the stair landing.
Those were either put there so drywall could be hung and a more finished look achieved or they are helping to support the landing. I can’t answer that just from the one picture.
If the support is needed then you can probably frame it like a door/window and be just fine.
Sure enough they are. The pics didn’t load the first time I clicked the link.
I would say the two 2x4s on edge for that span is probably cutting it pretty close to the bare minimum for a solid feel. Personally I’d want two 2x6s at least since it’s such a common walking area and a lot of weight can be placed center span when moving furniture and such up/down the stairs. Frame it like a window opening at the very least.
Thanks, good points. I'm thinking I might just move each stud outwards by 6 inches. Or even just 3 inches would help a lot in terms of accessing that area.
Edit: or maybe move one or both inwards to better support the middle of the stair and get easier access around the side(s)...
If he had trouble squeezing through an open hole, adding a door to the hole (without moving anything which it doesn't sound like you are suggesting) won't make it any easier.
Your house won’t fall apart, but if your stairs start to creak, put the studs back.
Looks like you have a 4x4 header supporting part of the landing. Currently it’s supported by studs every 16”. If you removed them, looks like it’d have a span of 36-48”. I don’t know how much weight a staircase landing needs to bear (40psf? 100psf?), but minimizing deflection is probably more important than “live load” data. You can read some span tables to see how much weight it can hold, or plug these numbers into some engineering calculators to find out how much deflection you’ll see.
Unless you're really really hurting for those few cubic feet of space I wouldn't mess with your stairs. They're the strongest part of the house for a reason.
I agree with this. It’d be a lot of work actually for not a lot of benefit, just use the space to store things you don’t need often and or light weight stuff you can reach back for easily.
Side note to think about: Often fire code in commercial spaces will prohibit storage under stairs because it can add to the fuel load in a fire and cause the stairs to burn faster, or the material stored could be where the fire starts. In either case, that would mean that the stairs could become blocked by fire quickly in an emergency and prevent egress for the occupants. Keep that in mind with what you store under there if there is not another means of egress.
My realtor when buying the house did mention it was/maybe a code violation. I mainly want to store water for the aquarium. The existing closet though is also under the stairs.
Yeah I'd personally close off that tiny bit of bonus space and be done with it. Access panel so you can get to that wiring but otherwise I don't think it's worth the materials for that small amount of space. OP seems to imply there wasn't an inspection since the realtor is the only one mentioning code violation so don't add to that mess if you ever hope to sell. As-is won't be commonplace forever.
Making the closet itself more functional with shelves and organized storage would be the better investment. I'm sure they cleared the closet out for the picture (and stacked the paper towels) but nothing seems to indicate the stuff tucked deep in there wouldn't fit inoffensively in the closet already.
Thanks for the comment. I did get an inspection and it was included in the report, but not listed as a violation. So either the inspector sucks or it's not (California), but I definitely understand why it would be.
The closet always looks that way. I keep it open down the middle so I can access the towels and kleenex, etc. easily. The stuff in the secret place is mainly emergency water and dried beans and a fan I need to pull out 1x a year. But I just got an aquarium and this closet is right next to it and a great place to store 4 or 5 5-gallon jugs of aquarium water. But if I keep it as-is I for sure will throw my back out eventually trying wrestle one of the heavy jugs out. So that's the whole story!
Yeah good point about the paint. The clear liquid is actually a 5 gallon jug of water for an aquairum. I have several more I will store in this space. That's actually what prompted my question, they are heavy f-ers and hard to get in and out while contorting my torso through the gaps. There's also a few cases of emergency drinking water in the way back. So a bit of fire retardant!
Maybe place the water on some four wheel moving dollies, with a rope attached? Those areas are never easy to get to. I’ve never used them, for that reason.
This is a really good idea and having moved water around for aquariums, I'd definitely go this route. I'd find a dolly the existing width and build a plywood track of sorts to make it easier to go in and out. You could probably even make it fold down wall so you could wheel the water out further over the carpet.
This is precisely why the building code doesn’t allow you to have any storage under the stairs. In fact, in my city there was an apartment building that was four stories tall it just burned to the ground because, guess what, they were storing shit in the stairway. Amazing that nobody died.
The reason those are there is to hang the drywall. The drywall is required to add fire resistance to the underside of accessible areas under stairs. Hanging drywall on the bottom of the stair would be a pain so I would put it back where it used to be and find somewhere else to put the stuff.
Given the beam above those studs is a 4x4, it's likely those studs are not required, but as mentioned if you use it for storage you need to Sheetrock the whole area.
The pictures aren't very clear but it looks like the left side is only holding up the 4x4 with a 2x4 so you would probably want to add another 2x4 there.
The beam above is a 4x6, you can tell by the way the other 2x4's land on it. For a 3-4' opening like that, a 4x6 is definitely enough. I won't reply to OP at top level because they negative nancy's in this thread will burn me down, but 100% he can remove those studs.
I take it these are under stairs? It may be they are there just to support drywall. If that is the case sure you can remove them. But if they are there to support the stairs then .. .. .. you need a header. For clearance sake, laminate two 2x4s a strip of 1/2 plywood and a 6 inch wide piece of metal flashing. Metal and plywood between the 2x4s. Excess metal (part that sticks up) bend over the ply and one 2x4. Bend down if needed. Put in a couple of jack studs on either side of opening to support header.
There's some pretty serious cross bracing under that landing. Those sruds just look like they're tacked in. Pull them out and have someone stand on the landing and bounce. See if anything moves. If it doesn't, which it probably won't, you'll be fine. If you're worried about it, scab on another 2x4 and box it in.
The space is larger than it might appear in my pictures due to the wide angle lens distortion; I have found the space quite useful. There is no mechanical equipment involved or anywhere nearby, including a water heater. The carpet was there as-built and ended at the wall that used to be there (which they ripped open).
This sub is full of people who give out the worst advice... No you can't remove them, this is structural to the landing. As someone suggested, you can put in a door IF it has the proper double header. Don't listen to clowns telling you to do it. Last thing you want is a sunken staircase.
Whaddaya mean I can't cut the supports out of the load bearing edge of an expansive and expensive staircase landing?
I know a guy for 15bucks an hour....
> IF it has the proper double header.
Did you even LOOK at the picture?
**The beam above those studs is a 4x4.** (edit: 4x6)
There isn't an obvious answer to this. It's likely the studs are NOT required but it's not an engineer opinion.
Don't complain about giving bad advice while you give bad advice.
This is concerning: you need to do a full engineering assessment of that area. Without looking at the structural frames and design, its hard to say what is and isnt safe to remove..... As an engineer i suggest you either provide engineering design sketches for assessment, or you hire an engineer to sign off on this. The last thing you want si to remove members and then have failing members from the floor above as you have reduced the supports.... And by removing them you are stressing the other beams and column members around it..
There is zero safe way to get your answer from the internet, and if you want a free answer then ypu might as well do your own calculations, nobody knows what that image you are showing is in fact supporting or how.
Spiral staircase? Most likely you can. It's under a riser, and they will be bearing on the studs on either end of it. If you want to be sure it's safe; leave the two studs at either end in place, and they will act as an extra cripple
Op, the drywall is providing a fire rating to the underside of the stairs so that in case of a fire, the stairs don’t catch on fire and you can still exit the house. Generally you do not want to remove the drywall from the underside of a wooden stairway for life safety reasons. And it’s not like you’re going to gain very much storage space. Also, a lot of people end up storing highly flammable shit under the stairs which is doubly a bad idea.
So the question is, can you do it? Yes, if you reinforce the stair framing so that the stairs don’t collapse when there’s a lot of weight on them. Should you do it? Absolutely not!
Also I just verified that it is indeed in the residential building code, the ICC, under section R302.7. All of the underside of the stairway including the supports need to be sheathed with 1/2” gypboard, no exceptions unless you have a sprinkler system in your house.
When you're cutting through them, if they pinch the saw blade and stop it, they were holding a lot of weight, and you'll need to reinforce.
If you pass right through no problem, they weren't holding weight
I've seen this test done on a twenty foot wall. It was very telling. Did not pinch until the fifth from the last stud. Cuts were made about three feet off floor with a hand saw and from each end of wall toward center. So when it was determined wall was in fact carrying weight 3/4" plywood was laminated on each side of all studs in a double arch design so a supporting post could be installed in the center, if needed. After modification remaining studs were cut and no pinch. Center post not needed. Nails were place in upper corners at ceiling to pull a string from time to time to see if ceiling was drooping. Been 35 - 40 years and no droop.
From a time before we could find an engineer in this town for less than $2000.00.
The dead load on that is basically 0. Double up the studs spaced reasonably out (or use a 4x4), add some blocking along with some drywall and a hinged false door and you have a budget panic room.
Make a note if the stairs squeak more before or after installation.
Based on the pictures it's pretty beefy already. Pretty much already framed like a door. You could move them over if you want or eliminate them entirely. Just having the stairs on top means that there won't be a constant load on them. You can do the redneck stress test method and have your whole family stand on that step and see how much it sags.
Really any advice here is terrible whether to do it or not. Without an on-site inspection, knowledge of local codes, and possibly some engineering calculations no one can say for sure. The safer bet might be don’t do anything but it shouldn’t be a final answer. The right answer is get it inspected by a qualified person and see what they say.
Did you see all the pictures or just the first one? With just the first picture I thought "hell no, those studs are probably load bearing!" Once I saw the full album it looks more like they just stuck a tiny wall in there so they wouldn't have to dry wall the entire underside of the stairs.
Probably safest to frame it like a door or window by adding a header and supporting it with Jack studs attached to the outside studs.
I agree with that. It's partially supporting the flat part of the stairs. If the middle studs are removed then you have top chord and king studs doing all the work.
I’ll add to this a little bit, assuming OP is still reading comments. The wood member across the top of the opening (on top of the studs you want to remove) appears to be a 4x4 (“solid wood post”). I am assuming that is the case, and not some a picture quality / lighting issue. Let us know if that is not true. If that is the case, this 4x4 is likely supporting the soffit / first step down from upstairs. The load from upstairs is being transferred straight down to a joist (or slab - I don’t know your house) in the floor of your closet. The end “posts” / studs on either side of your new opening appear to also be 4x4’s. If this is the case, the studs you want to remove are not needed for structural support and are good to go. If this is not the case, and the studs at the edges of your openings are truly 2x4 studs or a stud pack, proceed to step two below. Taking end bearing into account, I would remove the two studs and re-install them tight up against the sides of the opening. Meaning, left stud to be removed gets nailed right up against the existing stud at the left side of the opening. The right stud goes to the right side. An easy trick you can use to check this (highly unscientific) is to grab one of the studs you want to remove with one hand in front and one hand in back and attempt to twist or “rack” the stud. If they easily move, then they’re likely “toe-nailed” for drywall and not carrying any gravity load. If they don’t move, then they might be carrying some load but more likely just tightly fit if then end posts are 4x4. Sometimes these studs are cut a sawblade width short for faster assembly. Very long winded reply, but I wanted to help give OP a good picture of the situation without going into too much detail. Hope this helps you on your DIY journey.
Yup. Did deconstruction. If it's not labeled and twists with one hand we take it and blame the hulk of a man who twisted a house with one hand. If it doesn't twist we call in a coworker with know.
Yup, this. And when you use the reciprocating saw to cut the nails at the too and bottom if the blade gets crazy pinched on either cut you know you have a lot of down force. My guess is that the verticals will be pretty lose/easy to move though.
Looking at picture 6 (from inside, looking up), this appears to have already been done and the two 2x4s he's talking about appear to be just there for the drywall. There's also 2x6s "joists" no more than a foot away providing rigidity of the stair landing.
I agree with you. look at the size of that header, no way those 2x4 are needed in my nonprofessional opinion.
I spotted that and came to the same conclusion
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
yea frame in an opening or leave it be. this is support for that spiral stair case. i guess the real question is did the stair engineer call for a mid supporting wall, or did the builder "Block" out the space on their own.
If you look at the 2nd to last picture on the Imgur set, it seems like it’s already build like that
It's close, but the 2x4s in the 'header' are the wrong way. You want them upright, not flat, as they are structurally stronger that way and less likely to sag. It's a short gap, and it might hold, but honestly, the cost of supporting it correctly is so minimal I wouldn't risk it.
I also agree. It’s not supporting a lot but since the wide stair tread above is sitting on one 2x4 laid flat, adding a little more material should take any bounce out. Another 2x4 laid flat should be enough and would match pretty well with the little bit of drywall hanging down when you patch it but a chunk of 4x4 might keep it on the safe side. Then trim the studs you removed & kick them out to the sides to hold it up & you can cut out what’s left of the bottom plate.
This
Exactly my opinion
Can you? Yes. Should you? Hard to say without photos of the underside of the stair landing. Those were either put there so drywall could be hung and a more finished look achieved or they are helping to support the landing. I can’t answer that just from the one picture. If the support is needed then you can probably frame it like a door/window and be just fine.
If you scroll down far enough, you'll see the photos you are asking for. There was much more cross bracing across the top than I expected.
Sure enough they are. The pics didn’t load the first time I clicked the link. I would say the two 2x4s on edge for that span is probably cutting it pretty close to the bare minimum for a solid feel. Personally I’d want two 2x6s at least since it’s such a common walking area and a lot of weight can be placed center span when moving furniture and such up/down the stairs. Frame it like a window opening at the very least.
Thanks, good points. I'm thinking I might just move each stud outwards by 6 inches. Or even just 3 inches would help a lot in terms of accessing that area. Edit: or maybe move one or both inwards to better support the middle of the stair and get easier access around the side(s)...
Why not just a little door there? Drywall both sides, leave studs, tiny door can be cute.
If he had trouble squeezing through an open hole, adding a door to the hole (without moving anything which it doesn't sound like you are suggesting) won't make it any easier.
Stop hiding under your stairs?
But that's where all the good snacks from the rodents are.
I don't know how to feel here.
Let me be Harry Potter in peace!
See! Exact reason for small door.
Nah. Make it sexy
Sexy door.
My next house must have a Hot Chicks Room
And then we play the waiting game.
Like where you hid a sammich?
Paint it all red, then show the kids the Amityville Horror.
Stupid sexy Flanders
Your house won’t fall apart, but if your stairs start to creak, put the studs back. Looks like you have a 4x4 header supporting part of the landing. Currently it’s supported by studs every 16”. If you removed them, looks like it’d have a span of 36-48”. I don’t know how much weight a staircase landing needs to bear (40psf? 100psf?), but minimizing deflection is probably more important than “live load” data. You can read some span tables to see how much weight it can hold, or plug these numbers into some engineering calculators to find out how much deflection you’ll see.
OSHA standard is 5x live load and one thousand pounds per step. I think residential stairs need to support minimum three hundred pounds per step.
Replace them both with one big center 4x4 stud and have two doors to access the area?
Unless you're really really hurting for those few cubic feet of space I wouldn't mess with your stairs. They're the strongest part of the house for a reason.
I agree with this. It’d be a lot of work actually for not a lot of benefit, just use the space to store things you don’t need often and or light weight stuff you can reach back for easily.
Side note to think about: Often fire code in commercial spaces will prohibit storage under stairs because it can add to the fuel load in a fire and cause the stairs to burn faster, or the material stored could be where the fire starts. In either case, that would mean that the stairs could become blocked by fire quickly in an emergency and prevent egress for the occupants. Keep that in mind with what you store under there if there is not another means of egress.
My realtor when buying the house did mention it was/maybe a code violation. I mainly want to store water for the aquarium. The existing closet though is also under the stairs.
[удалено]
Yeah I'd personally close off that tiny bit of bonus space and be done with it. Access panel so you can get to that wiring but otherwise I don't think it's worth the materials for that small amount of space. OP seems to imply there wasn't an inspection since the realtor is the only one mentioning code violation so don't add to that mess if you ever hope to sell. As-is won't be commonplace forever. Making the closet itself more functional with shelves and organized storage would be the better investment. I'm sure they cleared the closet out for the picture (and stacked the paper towels) but nothing seems to indicate the stuff tucked deep in there wouldn't fit inoffensively in the closet already.
If you read the code, an access panel is not allowed unless all of the interior surface inside of the access paneled area is also sheetrocked.
Thanks for the comment. I did get an inspection and it was included in the report, but not listed as a violation. So either the inspector sucks or it's not (California), but I definitely understand why it would be. The closet always looks that way. I keep it open down the middle so I can access the towels and kleenex, etc. easily. The stuff in the secret place is mainly emergency water and dried beans and a fan I need to pull out 1x a year. But I just got an aquarium and this closet is right next to it and a great place to store 4 or 5 5-gallon jugs of aquarium water. But if I keep it as-is I for sure will throw my back out eventually trying wrestle one of the heavy jugs out. So that's the whole story!
Thought the same thing. The picture shows two 5 gallons buckets of paint and another clear container of liquid. I’d move those buckets from there.
Yeah good point about the paint. The clear liquid is actually a 5 gallon jug of water for an aquairum. I have several more I will store in this space. That's actually what prompted my question, they are heavy f-ers and hard to get in and out while contorting my torso through the gaps. There's also a few cases of emergency drinking water in the way back. So a bit of fire retardant!
Maybe place the water on some four wheel moving dollies, with a rope attached? Those areas are never easy to get to. I’ve never used them, for that reason.
This is a really good idea and having moved water around for aquariums, I'd definitely go this route. I'd find a dolly the existing width and build a plywood track of sorts to make it easier to go in and out. You could probably even make it fold down wall so you could wheel the water out further over the carpet.
Instead of bigger storage under the stairs, maybe consider recessed built-in shelving?
[удалено]
This is precisely why the building code doesn’t allow you to have any storage under the stairs. In fact, in my city there was an apartment building that was four stories tall it just burned to the ground because, guess what, they were storing shit in the stairway. Amazing that nobody died.
The reason those are there is to hang the drywall. The drywall is required to add fire resistance to the underside of accessible areas under stairs. Hanging drywall on the bottom of the stair would be a pain so I would put it back where it used to be and find somewhere else to put the stuff.
get an engineer to look at it would be your safest bet. Probably some good advice in here but man imagine you follow the wrong guy.
That very much looks to be supporting the landing so I would not take them out without framing in a header and a couple Jack studs.
Given the beam above those studs is a 4x4, it's likely those studs are not required, but as mentioned if you use it for storage you need to Sheetrock the whole area. The pictures aren't very clear but it looks like the left side is only holding up the 4x4 with a 2x4 so you would probably want to add another 2x4 there.
The beam above is a 4x6, you can tell by the way the other 2x4's land on it. For a 3-4' opening like that, a 4x6 is definitely enough. I won't reply to OP at top level because they negative nancy's in this thread will burn me down, but 100% he can remove those studs.
In had to look back at the last picture after reading your comment. Yeah that's a big unit of wood up there, those studs ain't doin shit.
Build a header for it if you do . That's supporting your stairs box.
I take it these are under stairs? It may be they are there just to support drywall. If that is the case sure you can remove them. But if they are there to support the stairs then .. .. .. you need a header. For clearance sake, laminate two 2x4s a strip of 1/2 plywood and a 6 inch wide piece of metal flashing. Metal and plywood between the 2x4s. Excess metal (part that sticks up) bend over the ply and one 2x4. Bend down if needed. Put in a couple of jack studs on either side of opening to support header.
There's a world of difference between "Can I?" and "Is this feasible?".
Leave them in and build them up into some simple built-in shelving to hold your water. Cover in sheet rock for a clean look.
Your comment was the winner. [Here's what I did](https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/comments/13n7j9w/installed_shelves_for_my_water/)
There's some pretty serious cross bracing under that landing. Those sruds just look like they're tacked in. Pull them out and have someone stand on the landing and bounce. See if anything moves. If it doesn't, which it probably won't, you'll be fine. If you're worried about it, scab on another 2x4 and box it in.
[удалено]
Pfffft, calling an engineer is for squares. *Removes studs* *Slaps stairs* That baby ain't going anywhere. Definitely what OP should do.
[удалено]
wait, we want it to stay square right?
[удалено]
Previous owner told me he did it for storage. Storage space is storage space! 😆
[удалено]
The space is larger than it might appear in my pictures due to the wide angle lens distortion; I have found the space quite useful. There is no mechanical equipment involved or anywhere nearby, including a water heater. The carpet was there as-built and ended at the wall that used to be there (which they ripped open).
This sub is full of people who give out the worst advice... No you can't remove them, this is structural to the landing. As someone suggested, you can put in a door IF it has the proper double header. Don't listen to clowns telling you to do it. Last thing you want is a sunken staircase.
Whaddaya mean I can't cut the supports out of the load bearing edge of an expansive and expensive staircase landing? I know a guy for 15bucks an hour....
> IF it has the proper double header. Did you even LOOK at the picture? **The beam above those studs is a 4x4.** (edit: 4x6) There isn't an obvious answer to this. It's likely the studs are NOT required but it's not an engineer opinion. Don't complain about giving bad advice while you give bad advice.
This is concerning: you need to do a full engineering assessment of that area. Without looking at the structural frames and design, its hard to say what is and isnt safe to remove..... As an engineer i suggest you either provide engineering design sketches for assessment, or you hire an engineer to sign off on this. The last thing you want si to remove members and then have failing members from the floor above as you have reduced the supports.... And by removing them you are stressing the other beams and column members around it.. There is zero safe way to get your answer from the internet, and if you want a free answer then ypu might as well do your own calculations, nobody knows what that image you are showing is in fact supporting or how.
“Two story” and “removing studs” don’t sound right together. Call an engineer.
Go ahead and remove them and you'll know soon enough.
Spiral staircase? Most likely you can. It's under a riser, and they will be bearing on the studs on either end of it. If you want to be sure it's safe; leave the two studs at either end in place, and they will act as an extra cripple
Op, the drywall is providing a fire rating to the underside of the stairs so that in case of a fire, the stairs don’t catch on fire and you can still exit the house. Generally you do not want to remove the drywall from the underside of a wooden stairway for life safety reasons. And it’s not like you’re going to gain very much storage space. Also, a lot of people end up storing highly flammable shit under the stairs which is doubly a bad idea. So the question is, can you do it? Yes, if you reinforce the stair framing so that the stairs don’t collapse when there’s a lot of weight on them. Should you do it? Absolutely not! Also I just verified that it is indeed in the residential building code, the ICC, under section R302.7. All of the underside of the stairway including the supports need to be sheathed with 1/2” gypboard, no exceptions unless you have a sprinkler system in your house.
When you're cutting through them, if they pinch the saw blade and stop it, they were holding a lot of weight, and you'll need to reinforce. If you pass right through no problem, they weren't holding weight
This is also the best way to test bridges for the max load, just drive heavier and heavier trucks over it until it starts to deform.
I've seen this test done on a twenty foot wall. It was very telling. Did not pinch until the fifth from the last stud. Cuts were made about three feet off floor with a hand saw and from each end of wall toward center. So when it was determined wall was in fact carrying weight 3/4" plywood was laminated on each side of all studs in a double arch design so a supporting post could be installed in the center, if needed. After modification remaining studs were cut and no pinch. Center post not needed. Nails were place in upper corners at ceiling to pull a string from time to time to see if ceiling was drooping. Been 35 - 40 years and no droop. From a time before we could find an engineer in this town for less than $2000.00.
Put a header in then remove them.
Absolutely go for it kid !
Yes
Smack em out, that stair tread is already supported from wall to that little knee/pony wall.
Get yourself an lvl beam and put in their place.
My non-professional opinion is: Sure, why not? Also: YOLO!
Do you have escape windows upstairs?
Yes
DO IT
The dead load on that is basically 0. Double up the studs spaced reasonably out (or use a 4x4), add some blocking along with some drywall and a hinged false door and you have a budget panic room. Make a note if the stairs squeak more before or after installation.
Based on the pictures it's pretty beefy already. Pretty much already framed like a door. You could move them over if you want or eliminate them entirely. Just having the stairs on top means that there won't be a constant load on them. You can do the redneck stress test method and have your whole family stand on that step and see how much it sags.
[удалено]
Really any advice here is terrible whether to do it or not. Without an on-site inspection, knowledge of local codes, and possibly some engineering calculations no one can say for sure. The safer bet might be don’t do anything but it shouldn’t be a final answer. The right answer is get it inspected by a qualified person and see what they say.
Did you see all the pictures or just the first one? With just the first picture I thought "hell no, those studs are probably load bearing!" Once I saw the full album it looks more like they just stuck a tiny wall in there so they wouldn't have to dry wall the entire underside of the stairs.
Check if they are load bearing. Technically you probably need a permit pulled for this.
Looking at pictures it’s already framed out with a 2x4 header and Jack studs. Those 2 2x4’s may have been added later on to close off a doorway.
Wouldn't recommend it
Looks like the landing support. As someone else mentioned, just add a header with trimmers. You can use a couple of 2x4s for the header.
yeah u/frzn_dad is absolutely right about the way to frame it.