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My house is 32 years old and I’ve gotta tell ya that the builder did some strange things.
He put the baseboards down and then must’ve thought “Hey! How about putting in some hardwood floors! Great! I’ll just butt them up to the baseboards … it’ll look fine.”
When it came time to put in a cellar entryway, instead of building out the foundation for support for stairs and a bulkhead door, he saved himself some time by installing a one-piece — steel — combination walls, stairs and and door. The steel beneath the stairs follows the angle of the stairs. Of course, after 32 years, the damn thing is completely rusting away. I’ve got it covered with a tarpaulin to keep the rain out, but know that I’ve got to do something a lot more permanent. But what?
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If you're looking to R&R, look into Bilco doors. Pre-cast concrete stair units w attached bulkhead door asembly.
If you're looking to cobble together a repair it's tough to diagnose "pick and shovel excavation" over the internet...esp w cave-in concerns.
*Tracer,About 40 years ago, my dad came up with idea of putting a small greenhouse with a door on the space where our bulkhead used to be. Together with two other guys he started a company and they manufactured and sold several dozen of these units. It was second job for all three guys and they eventually sold out to a larger greenhouse manufacturer. You might want to see if anyone still makes these units. At the time, they were more expensive than a Bilco bulkhead but not all that much more.
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My house is 32 years old and I've gotta tell ya that the builder did some strange things.
He put the baseboards down and then must've thought "Hey! How about putting in some hardwood floors! Great! I'll just butt them up to the baseboards ... it'll look fine."
When it came time to put in a cellar entryway, instead of building out the foundation for support for stairs and a bulkhead door, he saved himself some time by installing a one-piece — steel — combination walls, stairs and and door. The steel beneath the stairs follows the angle of the stairs. Of course, after 32 years, the damn thing is completely rusting away. I've got it covered with a tarpaulin to keep the rain out, but know that I've got to do something a lot more permanent. But what?