this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
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Home Improvement

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Hello all,

I bought a house a few months ago and am planning out improvements and such. When I had the house inspected, we discovered that this mysterious door in the basement was actually the entrance to a former bulkhead that was renovated over (a laundry room and small mudroom were built over it).

It's basically concrete walls/foundation with some exposed studs and beams along the top, some loose insulation and such, and then a set of concrete stairs connecting to the foundation/walls. My realtor suggested turning it into a wine cellar kind of thing, but I would prefer to use it as a lumber storage area for a side business I'm trying to build. To do so, however, I would need to remove the concrete stairs.

Can I just remove them (with power tools) without any damage to the foundation or structural integrity? Should I have someone come check it out first and make sure it's safe? It's wasted space currently, and I'd prefer to be able to use more of the space if possible.

Thank you for any advice/tips/etc!

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[–] EssentialNPC 8 points 9 months ago

I think this is a case where getting someone to look at it would be wise. Depending on your foundation, those stairs could be part of the structure of the foundation. Even if they were not pissy or the structure, removing them could damage the surrounding foundation.