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Empty cavern under stairs - Convert to usable space?

16 years ago

Our stairwell has unused space under. (Walled off.) The stairwell has three 'runs' of four steps with a landing between each so that the stairs can make two 90Â° turns. (You start up the stairs facing east and reach the top facing west.)

The area beneath the highest run is a long closet just off of our living room. The character of the stairwell leaves a hollow area in the core of the stairwell. A sort of 'nook'. What I'd like to be able to do is make use of the space under the middle flight of steps.

What I envision is having the area opened up so that I can first get in there to see what I have to work with. Then, instead of a door, I think it would be cool to have a freestanding shelf unit that can roll in and out of the space. The shelf unit would be a snug fit so as to hide the space behind. This would be useful for storing seasonal goods.

Does anyone have any pointers to where I can find information about this? (Comments of "Google" are ... quaint, but not substantial.) I guess this would be two bits of information that I need. Renovating under-stair voids as well as making furniture. Any tips or examples?

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Comments (3)

davidandkasie
16 years ago
i saw them do this on "Wasted Spaces" once. if you have any carpentry skills at all, it did not seem that hard to do. build a solid cabinet, and put the casters on the bottom. they also put some drawer slides on the sides on one episode so that it would roll straight, but i don't know if that would work under stairs or not.

Lowe's and HD both have books on making shelves, pick one up and get the design you like. then simply modify it a little to match your dimensions.
talley_sue_nyc
16 years ago
You might also hinge those shelves, after you've put the casters on; I think that would make it easier to roll them around.

Basically, anywhere you can find info about framing out the space under the stairs, even if it's for a closet, (installing a header, etc.), could help you frame the opening w/ a door frame.

Then, all you need to do is make a bookcase to the space that's left. Put a wide frame on the front of the cabinet (w/ molding) so that the molding overlaps and hides the opening.

under-stairs collector's cabinet
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_dwsp/episode/0,3110,DIY_28376_47620,00.html

under-stairs wine rack
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_ttd/episode/0,2046,DIY_14339_26671,00.html

understairs closet
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/hi_storage/article/0,2037,DIY_13934_5211383,00.html

how to build new storage under your stairs, from Popular Mechanics magazine, w/ illustrations and pictures
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/woodworking/4212966.html

(I Googled the words: under stairs closet build and got several things that look useful--I know you didn't want that sort of advice, but I was surprised at the quality of what I found )

And a note on a forum: " I was under the impression if you were able to access the bottom of the stairway the walls and ceiling should be sheetrocked with 1/2" rock?" -- "James, you are correct but I'm not sure which code specifies those requirements."
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sierraeast
16 years ago
"and a note on a forum"

Ours was required to have 5/8" fire rock mandated by code.

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