Stairs to basement- carpet or paint?

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by kokonutty

An awful lot of people here are talking about falling. Do these people have as much problem on the stairs that go from the ground floor to the upstairs area?

Same thing, really.

[ecowtent]

I love the idea of adding grit to the paint. The steps lead to a finished basement. We have linoleum that looks like wood on the basement floor, but I don't want that on the stairs. I don't like to lug the vacuum and also agree that carpet just look sworn down and dirty even with regular vacuuming. Stain would be my second choice, but the lumber isn't nice lumber as it is the initial set of stairs. We haven't replaced the treads with nice steps. That is a future project.


Thanks for the pros and cons of each choice!

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by kokonutty

An awful lot of people here are talking about falling. Do these people have as much problem on the stairs that go from the ground floor to the upstairs area?

I was talking about our upstairs stairways. Those are the ones that are painted. Yup, we fall on them sometimes, especially the front stairs which are older and therefore shallow and steep. You fall mor if you are wearing socks and in a hurry or tired. The dogs slip on the painted stairs fairly often. They just fall one step and catch themselves. They never slip on the carpeted stairs.

[blazerj]

Originally Posted by ecowtent

We have unfinished stairs to the basement that need finishing. Is it better to have carpet or is that a trip hazard? Or paint which can be slippery as we get older?

Carpet. If your basement is unfinished, it's probably dusty and the carpet will keep some of that from coming upstairs into your living space.