Up Stairs Down Stairs

Many a builder has told me, that one of the most common construction blunders made by DIY'ers are the step's measurement on staircases. I'd bet most Realtors have been out to list or view a home and while either going up or down the staircase, the last step was off a bit. It is just automatic and without any thought that ones foot just steps down at a uniformed rate... until oops that last step was deeper or shorter than the rest. It's an opportunity for a twisted ankle of worse maybe a fall. This structural defect can be a really expensive slip-up to repair. In most cases this mistake usually doesn't get fixed ever. Often it will cause the home to last much longer on the market than it normally would if the steps were right.

Some of the older rural homes I list on a regular basis have what might be called "farm-steps". Those are very steps from 100+ years ago. They are very vertical, extremely narrow and often have worn-in depressions from trudging for eons up and down those steps by the former occupants of those upper rooms. They too, are always found hidden behind a closed doorway, so the second floor can be unheated if wanted. Unless the staircase is completely relocated there is likely to be no extra room to fix it. As it would consume too much space or the headroom is just not there at either end of the staircase to bring this type of stairway into modern day building code.

One other difficult to sell stairway, is the Spiral Staircases. These stairway relics of the 70's, often conjurer up visual images of a hip and swank bachelor pad. I can just imagine Dean Martin crooning "Everybody Loves Somebody" on his way down those circular steps with a martini in hand.

Are you searching for homes to buy in Viroqua or Vernon County Wisconsin

call Mary Strang therteam.com RE/MAX Hill Country Realty 608-606-2999

About the author:

Mary Strang is the Broker-owner of RE/MAX Hill Country Realty located in Viroqua, WI. Home to Organic farming, a small rural city population of about 4000 and a great place to live! Copyright © 2009 by Mary Strang. All rights reserved... " Up Stairs Downs Stairs" the blog post was written by Mary Strang is believed accurate but may not be guaranteed.