My contractor used to have a saying, "You can do anything you want!" He meant, sure, anything is possible, but it isn't always a good idea. Moving a staircase in the center of the house is a BIG change to the house structure.

Is there a way to put a window in the wall so that the feeling is open and the area is shared, but the stairs stay?

Yes, I know, that's not what you asked. Sorry if it's not responsive. I just can't help wondering if the house might be polished up without being rebuilt.

My parents are building an in-law suite in the basement so although we do not have to move things, it would make for a much better layout for us all. We know it might be costly but we are planning on living here for 30+ years. I am realistic and open to ideas and suggestions though. Thanks for your response! :)

Where would you want to put the stairs if you did decide to move them, though? The rest of the home has been structured around the stairs in that position so not only is there the expense of a new staircase in another location but there will be a lot of other things that will likely need to be done to accommodate such a major structural change for that to be safely done.

Jenn - do you mean the stairs are structural or that the home has been designed around the stairs? In a perfect world I would like to move them to the dining room on an exterior wall which would lead down to a basement bedroom. That bedroom would be used as storage for my family and my parents will have the rest of the basement.

We bought the house for the property, it is set on a beautiful lake in Parry Sound, Ontario. If it cannot be done, so be it. We will make it work for the love of living on the lake! :) See the picture for inspiration and why we are willing to live in a less then perfect house!

New stairs will eat up more room above and below because code now requires a less steep rise and a longer run is the result. That means opening up the penetration further to avoid banging your head. That means structural work. Stair walls generally are structural to begin with. These projects typically start at 50K and go upwards pretty quickly.

Money mskes anything possible, even instances of wasting it.

It does sound lovely to be living on a lake (well unless there’s flooding but that’s the pessimist in me talking, lol). I would just encourage you to be flexible and prepared to hear anything a contractor/architect tells you, including “no, that’s gonna be impossible for reasons x y and z”.

I don't get this logic - you buy a new home, don't like the design, say you want to live there 30+ years. Horrible judgement.

Geoffrey - there is much more to buying a home then the design. We bought the house for the property and if possible would like to change the design. Where we are moving to (a nine hour move from our current house) housing is very limited. Ideally we would have found the perfect place but time and logistics did not allow for that. We are very happy with the home and would like to make changes if we can. Thanks for your interest in my post, but I think you are what they call an internet troll. Please do not comment if you have nothing constructive to add.

Another thought. It sounds like your reason for moving the stairs is privacy. To create a two family home out of a one family home.

But think another way. The other family is your family. So, asking for access to storage two or three times a year shouldn't be a huge issue. It isn't difficult to create a wall and door around the stairs to separate the two apartments.

Just a thought. I don't have all the info, of course.

You will be reconstructing half the house at a minimum to accomplish this, and as Sophie states 50k at the bare minimum, more than likely double that.

Wow, okay. I was expecting big money but not that big! 50k is too much. We will explore some other options if that is the case. Thanks everyone for the help.

If you bought the house for the property, then you need to start planning a teardown and new build.

It sounds like it is a load-bearing wall, and judging from the photo of the attic, I'm almost positive that it is. Removing that wall would be cost-prohibitive. Is the basement a daylight, walkout basement? If not, I know I wouldn't want to live in a dark place like a basement. You also have to take code requirements as far as egress from each room.

Thanks Nancy Walton for your comments. I thought is was probably load bearing based on the attic as well. Yes, the basement is a very nice walkout with beautiful big windows and lots of light. They will have several large windows, a sliding door, and of course the staircase to use.

For the same money, you might consider an addition of some sort, if space and zoning would permit. This is where an architect could help you come up with ideas which might not have occurred to you. It could also add more value than moving stairs.

Iatifolia that is a great idea and I had not thought of. Thanks! I have contacted a designer since I posted this and will discuss that possibility with her.

And Parry Sound ON is NOT easy to get to - I've shipped cork floors to Parry Sound....it cost THREE TIMES to get it there than to Barrie or Orillia.

So that $50K option is not even CLOSE to the real cost of this thing. Moving the WALL will be $15K - $20K. The cost of materials and man power in that area of Ontario are UNBELIEVABLY high. Transport costs for ANYTHING will be triple that of "civilized" areas...like Barrie.

So...moving the stairs will be more than $50K....and then the wall moving will probably require a structural beam. Those beams are $5K in Toronto....but once you get into Parry Sound, they triple in price just for transport.

See where we are headed here? I've seen "bunkies" cost $30K in that area (prefab then moved onto the property). That's easy peasy money to spend in that neck of the Ontario woods.

If $50K is not in your budget, then I recommend that you save your money, get into the swing of things with extended family living around you and THEN decide the final layout. The existing home will either be "good enough" or you will need to do a complete tear down with a redo.

Or you could do what many in cottage/lake country do - add more buildings to your property. So many of these properties have 3-5 "out" buildings added simply because it is cheaper/easier/faster to have them prefabricated and then brought in then it is tear down and build new.

The building season out there is VERY short. Mud is a constant battle. Winter comes early and stays late. Big transport trucks can only go into these areas if they are DRY and COMPACT and there is NO RAIN in the forecast for at least two weeks.

I've seen many people have to bring in gravel to their driveways/access roads (a few thousand just for that) so that they could get a delivery....and then the fall storms set in and nothing was possible until late May the next year.

Things get interesting in these areas of our great country. And interesting normally translates into "expensive". Please take your time with this. You have a stunning property that will take quite a bit of time figuring out what NEEDS to be done (like a new roof) vs. what you WANT done. Plan ahead and always plan for delays and bad weather. It will keep you sane.

It won't hurt to ask a couple of contractors to bid on this, but don't be surprised if the bids are as high as others have suggested here...or higher.

Save the contractor's time, please. This cannot be done cost effectively.