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Some years back my dog ran past me on our outside stairs, I fell down them (with my 1 year old in my arms who I did manage to hold up as I went down), and I broke my foot.
We moved into our new house last summer and in the middle of the night while fetching a bottle I fell down the lower part of the stairs. It was dark and I thought I was at the bottom, but wasn't. I put lights up and that is working well. Last night going down to the basement I slipped off the second to last step.
Clearly I have issues. I'm wondering about just changing the staircase that goes from the main floor to the 2nd floor. Has anyone here done that? I wonder if it will ruin the look of my home or if it will be too cost prohibitive. My husband thinks I'm going overboard, but I have developed a fear- at home, at work, at the mall, etc. I worry for my kids.
Here is what they look like...
Last edited by Cassy Fae; 03-04-2017 at 06:36 AM..
There must be some cheaper solutions that are also safer - some kind of rubberized gripper strips applied to each step? A rule to never wear go just in stockingfeet around the house? A rule to always use the handrail? A rule to never carry a child on the stairs (hubby only)? You may also wish to talk to your GP about this series of falls and see if a neuro consult is called for - especially given your age.
A landing won't stop you from falling on the "next to the last step" as you've done earlier - just helps that you won't tumble down the entire length of the stairs. Sure, you probably won't kill yourself but serious injuries are still possible.
There must be some cheaper solutions that are also safer - some kind of rubberized gripper strips applied to each step? A rule to never wear go just in stockingfeet around the house? A rule to always use the handrail? A rule to never carry a child on the stairs (hubby only)? You may also wish to talk to your GP about this series of falls and see if a neuro consult is called for - especially given your age.
A landing won't stop you from falling on the "next to the last step" as you've done earlier - just helps that you won't tumble down the entire length of the stairs. Sure, you probably won't kill yourself but serious injuries are still possible.
My husband would probably agree with this. I hate the idea of a neuro consult, but you make a good point. I will talk to my GP about that. And yes, the idea of the split case would be to prevent a full tumble. A friend at work has cape with a straight case and her 5 year nose dived down that one morning while they were starting their day. He was ok, but that kind of thing freaks me out with my kids. The statistics for staircase falls are actually grim- something like 1 million per year in the US.
A landing also won't necessarily prevent a total fall to the bottom of the stairs. I managed to do that as a 4th grader on concrete stairs with metal strips on the front of them. I started falling at the top of the staircase, hit the landing and did a right turn and made it all the way to the bottom floor. For some reason, I did leave my lunch box at the top of the stairs though (probably because I knew my Mom would kill me if I broke the thermos).
A landing also won't necessarily prevent a total fall to the bottom of the stairs. I managed to do that as a 4th grader on concrete stairs with metal strips on the front of them. I started falling at the top of the staircase, hit the landing and did a right turn and made it all the way to the bottom floor. For some reason, I did leave my lunch box at the top of the stairs though (probably because I knew my Mom would kill me if I broke the thermos).
LOL. Damn! Glad you survived it. I would definitely have the whole thing carpeted too. When I tumbled down those in the pic that wood was painful on my ankles!
I lived in a two story over a basement in my thirties, with DH and our three young kids. I banished baby walkers (remember them?) because so many kids fell down the stairs in them and suffered bad injuries.
My kids learned to climb and descend stairs early, and we had few falls. I managed to fall partially down the basement stairs once, and once up the main floor stairs, which looked a lot like yours. I banged up my shins pretty bad, (How does one fall going up the stairs? I have no idea. But it hurt.).
I recommend carpeting the stairs. Your city probably has a code regarding railings. I'd make sure your your stairs were up to the latest code for safety.
It is understandable that you would fall when a dog ran past you. The other cases--I don't know. You might have a simple thing like one leg being weaker than the other, or possibly one leg being slightly shorter. I think it is worthwhile mentioning this to your doc. Possibly you would qualify for physical therapy? Just a thought.
I carried loads of laundry up two flights of stairs for all the years I lived in that house. I fell fewer than five times, I am sure. Absent a physical condition that endangers you on steps, I think if you are mindful, you can probably do OK in this house.
I think it would be possible to change your stairs, but it would be more costly than you imagine.
Landing to ceiling height is usually the stopper on putting a landing and twist in a stair set.
The keys to safe stairs are precisely exact consistent risers and treads, good lighting, and non-slip surfaces.
I would suggest installing non-slip nose guards of a contrasting color on the steps. The one rail you have looks sturdy, but you have to have the hand on that side free to grasp it. Is there room somewhere for a small dumbwaiter to minimize the shlepping of laundry up and down stairs?
Changing out a set of stairs is no small job, and no joke of a project. Staircases are scrutinized by the powers that be (county) to make sure they're within spec and code. This means the exact exact exact right height of riser to foot board, the absolute right pitch angle from bottom to top, the right surface type, handrail height and length, and so on. Not a simple or cheap thing to do. Also, several staircases are actually integral components of the home's structural integrity. So, you're messing with something the rest of the home may rely on either directly or indirectly.
With that said, can you change the actual stairs themselves? Sure. I've had a few replaced over the years myself. Just a riser or two popped out and replaced with same size.
Some years back my dog ran past me on our outside stairs, I fell down them (with my 1 year old in my arms who I did manage to hold up as I went down), and I broke my foot.
We moved into our new house last summer and in the middle of the night while fetching a bottle I fell down the lower part of the stairs. It was dark and I thought I was at the bottom, but wasn't. I put lights up and that is working well. Last night going down to the basement I slipped off the second to last step.
Clearly I have issues. I'm wondering about just changing the staircase that goes from the main floor to the 2nd floor. Has anyone here done that? I wonder if it will ruin the look of my home or if it will be too cost prohibitive. My husband thinks I'm going overboard, but I have developed a fear- at home, at work, at the mall, etc. I worry for my kids.
I was going to say muscle memory but you lived there long enough.
Wood stairs are very slippery with socks or shoes of any sort. How about installing some tread slip edge. You can also have a stair lighting installed to help you navigate at night.
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