Removing a Spiral Staircase

[gardener]

A house we may buy has an interior spiral staircase that we would want to remove. We'll get a contractor to do the work, but we cannot bring him in to study our specific situation until we buy the house, so I'm trying to get a sense of whether this project is possible before we are committed.

The metal staircase sits on a tiled (wood joist supported) floor and runs through an opening in the dry-walled ceiling to the seond floor, which has wood joists with plywood underlayment and wall-to-wall carpeting. The upper banister attaches to a half wall (not load bearing).

Am I correct in assuming that this should not be a huge project absent some unusual complication? I have seen the architect's plans and don't find anything that raises any red flags in my amateur brain.

I am guessing that we will need to patch the floor area where the staircase is currently attached, add new joists in the area that is currently open above (connecting them with the existing joists somehow), remove the half wall, add new drywall, plywood and carpet. Am I missing anything major? I imagine a building permit would be required, but is there any common structural issue that might prevent us from removing the staircase?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Don_P]

Generally a spiral is used because there is not room to install a standard staircase. You most certainly can take a contractor with you to look over the situation prior to sale. If this were the only way upstairs, the results of what he says may be a deal breaker.

[gardener]

There is another stairway; the one we want to remove is unnecessary and blocks the view. There are reasons we cannot get a contractor into the house yet, which is why I'm trying to see if the odds of this being workable are in our favor.

[Don_P]

Look at the hole size through the upper floor on stairs of the type you want and compare that to what you have, it takes good 3d visualization. There must be at least 6'8" headroom over the stairs as they rise, at that point the hole above needs to start. If the hole is not large enough it is way beyond the scope of the internet to try to figure out what is supported where and how it should be addressed. The odds are not in your favor, but it is not inconceivable that someone just wanted a spiral and put it in a full size hole.

[gardener]

We don't want to replace the stair, we want to remove it and make it look like no stair was ever there: fix the lower floor, repair the lower ceiling, install a patch in the floor above and carpet over the patch.

[Don_P]

You probably were clear, the fog of the internet. That should be quite do able.