Hardwood Stairway of Death - Carpeting or No?

As you may have remembered my wife fell in November of last year on our hardwood stairs and fractured her hip into 6 pieces. We attribute that fall to the fact that she was wearing socks on hardwood stairs that didn't have any grip. She fell about 5 treads from the bottom.

Only a few days after her accident, I felt on the stairs in a similar way, bashing my hip. I was sore for a few days, she needed intensive surgery and 4 months recovery. This is an important distinction. 

I added clear grip tape to the stair treads which has helped in foot placement and minimize slipping.

My In-Laws, on the other hand, want me to carpet the stairs. I'm hesitant to do this because I believe carpeting will actually make them more likely to falls and slips, and if someone slips at the top of the stairs, it's bad news. 

They believe the carpeting will add cushion to hard stairs. I think it'll decrease the attractiveness of the house we want to sell in the near future, increase fall likelihood, and we don't want our toddler on the stairs at all, much less on carpeted stairs. I think to make the stairs cushioned enough to prevent serious injury they'd need 1/2" of padding underneath very low profile Burber carpeting. Wrapped around the nosing.

To make matters worse, a similar set of stairs goes into the garage below the house. 

Thoughts comments concerns? 

After what your wife went through, I would have like rubber anti-slip on every step. Screw appearances when you consider the consequences.

Buying everyone several sets of grippy socks is probably the least costly solution if you plan to sell near term ...

Nothing you do will be that aesthetically pleasing. I'd go towards grippy stuff like rubber or tape and leave it at that.

Then focus on finding a house with no stairs.

I already have grip tape - like the stuff on skateboards - on the stairs. Traction/Anti-Slip isn't an issue currently. 

We're having a debate about whether carpet will sufficiently cushion a fall, and if the trade off of said cushioning is worth the increased risk of slipping. 

Man. That’s a tough call. Our builder carpeted ours, which I was kinda pissed about. Cats destroyed it in 3.2 seconds. We ripped up the carpet and painted the stairs to match the walls. 

18 years later with two crazy kids, an unfathomable amount of parties (booze) before said kids, and no one has ever “slipped” on the stairs. I did ride an inflatable dolphin down them once (good thing I was wearing a helmet!)

I like NOHOME’s idea, if “just don’t fall down the goddamned stairs” isn’t an option. 

Seriously though, those rubber things he posted look not bad. Baby-gate for the kid, (which I assume you already have.)

Chicken or the egg.  

Which is more important?  Avoiding a fall or having padding when you do fall?  I would focus on fall avoidance measures added to the hardwoods since squishy, over padded carpeting is possible to increase the likelihood of falling 

poopshovel again said:

Man. That’s a tough call. Our builder carpeted ours, which I was kinda pissed about. Cats destroyed it in 3.2 seconds. We ripped up the carpet and painted the stairs to match the walls. 

18 years later with two crazy kids, an unfathomable amount of parties (booze) before said kids, and no one has ever “slipped” on the stairs. I did ride an inflatable dolphin down them once (good thing I was wearing a helmet!)

I like NOHOME’s idea, if “just don’t fall down the goddamned stairs” isn’t an option. 

Seriously though, those rubber things he posted look not bad. Baby-gate for the kid, (which I assume you already have.)

So your first comment brought back some memories.  The wife and I impulse bought some furniture when walking by a furniture store to get some pizza.  We bought leather couch and love seat,  we have cats,  you can imagine how that worked out.

Rubber mats on the steps used to be standard.

Cotton said:

poopshovel again said:

Man. That’s a tough call. Our builder carpeted ours, which I was kinda pissed about. Cats destroyed it in 3.2 seconds. We ripped up the carpet and painted the stairs to match the walls. 

18 years later with two crazy kids, an unfathomable amount of parties (booze) before said kids, and no one has ever “slipped” on the stairs. I did ride an inflatable dolphin down them once (good thing I was wearing a helmet!)

I like NOHOME’s idea, if “just don’t fall down the goddamned stairs” isn’t an option. 

Seriously though, those rubber things he posted look not bad. Baby-gate for the kid, (which I assume you already have.)

So your first comment brought back some memories.  The wife and I impulse bought some furniture when walking by a furniture store to get some pizza.  We bought leather couch and love seat,  we have cats,  you can imagine how that worked out.

We’re down to one cat. Wife insisted in leather couches to replace our “disposable, replace once every couple years” couches. You can imagine how that’s worked out.

Sitting here on my leather sofa and eyeing the damned cat as we speak.  Corners are shredded.  Waiting till she dies before replacing it though.poopshovel again said:

Cotton said:

poopshovel again said:

Man. That’s a tough call. Our builder carpeted ours, which I was kinda pissed about. Cats destroyed it in 3.2 seconds. We ripped up the carpet and painted the stairs to match the walls. 

18 years later with two crazy kids, an unfathomable amount of parties (booze) before said kids, and no one has ever “slipped” on the stairs. I did ride an inflatable dolphin down them once (good thing I was wearing a helmet!)

I like NOHOME’s idea, if “just don’t fall down the goddamned stairs” isn’t an option. 

Seriously though, those rubber things he posted look not bad. Baby-gate for the kid, (which I assume you already have.)

So your first comment brought back some memories.  The wife and I impulse bought some furniture when walking by a furniture store to get some pizza.  We bought leather couch and love seat,  we have cats,  you can imagine how that worked out.

We’re down to one cat. Wife insisted in leather couches to replace our “disposable, replace once every couple years” couches. You can imagine how that’s worked out.

Having fallen down carpeted stairs as often as I have regular, they don't soften E36 M3 except the noise you make hitting them.

Man, copy and reply gets fubared on an iPhone.

As for the stairs:  don hocky pants before any ascent or descent?

Carpeted stairs are slippery in socks and while they may be slightly softer to fall on I wouldn't call them soft.  They're also a royal pain to vacuum and apparently are indistinguishable from a scratching post if you're a cat.

I have lasting elbow pain, a bad ankle, and a previously broken tailbone, from separate slips down carpeted stairs. No, carpet sure the berkeley did NOT soften the crash. 

And...she's...carpeting...a...stairway...to...destruction. 

I really like the aesthetics of our stair runner (though I don't think I'd have gone to the expense on something I was going to sell soon).

To my wife and I, they feel less doomy than our old bare stairs (not hardwoods like I initially typed, though I don't think the coefficient of friction of pine or fir is significantly different...). The cats don't seem to have noticed it's scratching-post-ness.

If you go with carpeting with a significant cushion under it, it sure seems that it would be sufficient to prevent major injuries.  After I move out, my parents put new carpeting going down to the basement- that seems like it would not hurt too bad.

Can't say that it would look good for your stairs- they look super nice like that.

How about a different idea?  If you put a modern snap together style wood- that can have both a cushion under it AND an underlayment cushion.  That would preserve the look and add some softness to the landing.

What about using a router to put some subtle grooves in the stair treads?  I've walked on granite treads grooved like that and it works great.

In reply to pheller :

You have to make sure the stairs are built correct first .  

A quick and dirty way is to stretch a string from top step to the bottom.  It should lightly touch each step Check both the left and right side.  

Then measure each step to make sure they are the same.  

Differences even slight differences are trip hazards.  They must be dealt with first. 

Carpeting even padded carpeting is probably not the best safety device.  

Add a railing to the wall. When falling having a second rail to grab for may save the fall.  

Perhaps it’s time to look at a chair?  I’m sure one would cost less than you just spent on the hospital. Not to mention lost income etc

If your going to sell soon look at other homes on your MLS that have stairs like yours and see what they have to get some more ideas. 

Carpet on stairs is slippery, nothing helps pad your fall when every 11” there is a stairnose to wang whatever part of your body hits it

In reply to pheller :

Carpet won't help cushion your falls. That takes a rather dense foam not carpet. Some carpet designs can increase your grip but you say you handled that. A handrail on each side and using them is the safest way to use the stairs. That may be able to be installed while maintaining sufficient width of the stairway and look ok. 

I lived in a townhouse for a short time with unusual for me steep stairways. Everyone fell. My two year old did a full cartwheel unintentionally and somehow ended up standing at the end. The handrails were the only saving feature.

My personal rule is no going up or down the stairs in socks. We have hardwood floors and stairs in a similar setup to yours. I broke my rule once and nearly paid the price. I turned the corner at the top of the stairs and my feet cam out from under me. Luckily I was carrying like four pillows we had just bought and landed on those instead of breaking a couple ribs. 

Carpeting wont do anything for falls.

Personally if it was me id ad some grit to a clear coat and paint it on the stairs or light;y sand the stairs so it isnt a totally smooth surface