Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 4/30/2011

Question
I have a split entry home built in 1991. I am remolding the basement which has some visible vertical support beams.
I would like to turn my closet that is under my stair case leading up to the top level into an office area and would like to open the wall up from the bottom of the last stair to the horizontal support beam that runs through the whole house.When I opened the wall on the interior area of the stair case I do not see the typical 4x4 support. I see a few 2x4's that look like they were put there to have a way to screw the drywall and to frame the half wall separation between the two sets of stairs. Would this work without compromising the structure or support?Thank you for your time, Cynthia

Answer
Hi Cynthia, if you are talking about the sidewall enclosing the staircase then chances are good that this wall is not a stair support.  Most stair stringers span from the bottom to the top and are self supporting.  Sometimes in long stair runs there is an intermediate wall supporting the stair stringers halfway up the stairs. But most stair stringers are cut from single pieces of planking and are sell supporting.  I always recommend that before removing structural supports that someone in the know, preferably an engineer look at your particular situation in case there are unseen things I have no way of knowing about.  Sincerely Bruce E Johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com