Remodeling winder stairs

You can't take out winders without rebuilding the stairs. This can be rather difficult since you will be adding to the overall run, meaning, you need additonal space in the length of the stair carriage and opening. Winders are often a result of limited room, they are the least prefered method of building a stair and wouldn't normally be used if there was plenty of run length. As Calvin pointed out, it's often about the opening above and the head room that will be needed as well as where the stairs land. By removing the winders, you'll need the additional length for two treads at the existing rise and run. It may be possible to change the rise on the entire stair so you only need one additional tread but that depends on the overall rise. Typically, you don't want to exceed 7 3/4" per rise on a main staircase. An 8" rise puts the stairway into a utility stair class, beyond that, it's approaching a ladder. There is also a balance between the rise and the tread, the higher the rise, the more narrow the tread. Unbalanced treads and risers can make the walker lean forward or backwards.