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Chesapeake, VA on Jul 29, 2011

During our stairwell remodel, I broke into the dead space under our stairs from inside the closet.

Now I want to annex this space to the closet.

Can I remove the studs from the side & back of the closet? Are they just for attaching the wall board? OR are they part of the support system for the stringers? From what I've been reading, it seems that stairs are attached at the top & anchored at the bottom, with no need for support in between.

8 Comments

Nichter's Home Services C... Islesboro, ME

Your excellent photos show what you want to remove well enough, but not the stringers of the staircase itself - what would be left structurally if this kneewall is removed.
But from the little I can see, I think this is only a partition and not support framing

on Jul 29, 2011 · Like 1
KL K Chesapeake, VA

@ Nichter: If you don't mind, please look at these photo too ... thx for your help.
I was under the stairs in the "dead space: Working left to right; garage wall to interior wall
on Jul 29, 2011 · Like 0
JL Spring & Associates Richmond, VA

If you don't have to remove all the studding, leave as much as you can if it's just storage space. I'd certainly leave the center 2 Xs as step support ( you may pick up a squeek or 2 if they are gone) but the surrounding wall studs seem there to hold sheetrock, not the weight of the stairwell unit. Great pictures, thanks for bringing it to us here on HT!
JL

on Jul 29, 2011 · Like 1
Nichter's Home Services C... Islesboro, ME

You'll be fine taking out that partition wall under the stairs here. /there is plenty of meat in the stringers and they were re-inforced with extra 2x4

on Jul 30, 2011 · Like 1
Paul M Fairburn, GA

Unless your stairs are made out of steel I would never assume that you need no support in the center. Wood tends to move a lot more that steel, however if your stair was constructed in a structurally sound way it may be fine to remove that wall. If it is just part of the closet then why not leave one set of board in the center to be safe instead of sorry? I just recently removed a wall separating two rooms with a glue lam beam as the header of that wall and even though it has support in ...»
the wall I left a stud pack outside of the wall just to make sure. When it comes to structural elements it is better to be covered than to push the envelope and end up with a problem. Just my two cents for what it is worth. Nichter may be right but it is hard to know from any photo if there are any hidden issues. Just be careful.

on Jul 30, 2011 · Like 2
KL K Chesapeake, VA

Thank you all for the guidance ... sharing your expertise is greatly appreciated.
Considering all the great advice: My plan is to remove the studs sitting between the stringers to allow full access to the space under the stairs. AND, I'll attached studs directly under the stringers to ensure support. Also going to "glue & screw" to see if we can take care of some of the squeaking while we're at it.

on Jul 30, 2011 · Like 0
joe mitchell Smyrna, GA

After removing the partition, I would add a 2x4 to the other side of the center stringer and screw the outer stringers to the studs. Do not screw or nail in the notched area of the stringers 90% of the time it splits. Glue would definitely be a good idea. The extra storage space will come in handy.

on Jul 30, 2011 · Like 1
KL K Chesapeake, VA

@ Joe: thank you so much for the tip re: notched area splitting

on Jul 30, 2011 · Like 0