Office and tenancy
Retiring an internal stair when commercial floors change
An internal stair may have suited one company occupying two floors. When the tenancy changes, the same connection can conflict with the new layout. Before ordering its removal, decide what each floor must become and how the former connection will be treated.
Planning guidance by MetroPoint Demolition. Illustrative comparisons describe decisions, not completed projects.
MetroPoint assesses structural demolition and selective removals across the GTA. The designer establishes the approved building alteration; the demolition assessment defines the contribution needed to carry it out.
Start with the future use of both floors
Treat the upper and lower levels as two receiving spaces. If separate tenants will occupy them, their floor, ceiling and access requirements may differ. If the same business remains, it may want to replace the stair elsewhere or change how staff move between departments.
Ask the responsible designer to settle the circulation and building-design questions before choosing a removal boundary. A preference to recover floor area is not itself a design for closing an opening or changing an access arrangement.
Decide which parts of the connection are changing
Removing finishes from a staircase, removing the stair assembly and closing the floor opening are different packages. Identify the existing flights, landings, balustrades and adjacent partitions, including anything the new design retains.
| Intended result | Demolition discussion |
|---|---|
| Keep the stair and change nearby rooms | Define ordinary partitions and finishes independently of the stair |
| Replace the stair at the same location | Establish the assembly that leaves and the retained construction needed by the new installer |
| Retire the connection entirely | Define stair removal alongside a separate, designed opening-closure package |
| Move the connection elsewhere | Treat the existing removal and the new opening as separate reviewed locations |
Any concrete breaking or removal needs its own assessment. MetroPoint’s concrete-removal scope does not automatically include specialist cutting or coring; identify those preparations and their contractor where the design requires them.
Give the open area a temporary owner
There may be a period between the stair leaving and the replacement or closure work being completed. The GC should assign the protection, separation and access arrangements for that period, as well as the inspection that allows the next stage to begin.
This matters to both levels. A contractor working on the upper floor should not assume the lower floor is available for storage, access or handling. Record which areas the removal package can use and which remain under another contractor or occupier’s control.
Compare a tenancy split with a stair replacement
Consider an illustrative office building where a two-floor tenant is leaving. A new upper-floor tenant wants the internal connection closed; the lower-floor design retains surrounding rooms. The demolition boundary follows the approved closure design and the rooms being kept, rather than a whole-floor gut.
If the same staircase were simply being replaced, the receiving installer might require different retained edges and connections. Both projects remove a stair, but they should not use the same unqualified scope. Neither example represents a completed MetroPoint project.
Request the defined removal
Request a MetroPoint estimate with the property, plans for both floors and the intended future of the stair opening. Identify the designer, closure or replacement contractor, and any specialist preparation already assigned. MetroPoint can then assess the removal against the actual building and receiving work.