Stairs, why are you so complicated?
December 13, 2010 9:13 AM Subscribe
We're trying to figure out a way to fill in the space between the railing and the stairs in our home so that little people can't slip underneath.
This is a picture of our steps. Any ideas? We've thought about cutting pieces of wood that we would attach to the underside of the railing, but this is a bit tedious, as it would require multiple pieces and sanding and painting to look nice. I'm having a hard time visualizing anything better. If anyone can figure out a solutions that is 1) easy, 2) relatively cheap and 3) not ugly, I would be very impressed and appreciative.
We have blocked off the top and the bottom of the steps as well, but we have a foster child, and this is one of the things we've been asked by the county to do to make the home safe.
This is a picture of our steps. Any ideas? We've thought about cutting pieces of wood that we would attach to the underside of the railing, but this is a bit tedious, as it would require multiple pieces and sanding and painting to look nice. I'm having a hard time visualizing anything better. If anyone can figure out a solutions that is 1) easy, 2) relatively cheap and 3) not ugly, I would be very impressed and appreciative.
We have blocked off the top and the bottom of the steps as well, but we have a foster child, and this is one of the things we've been asked by the county to do to make the home safe.
How about attaching sheets of (reasonably strong) clear plexiglass to the outside of the stairs, extending up to the railing? You could probably use screws on the bottom (into the wood) and construction adhesive or similar on the top. I bet you could remove it pretty easily once any small people become less small.
posted by Madamina at 9:18 AM on December 13, 2010
posted by Madamina at 9:18 AM on December 13, 2010
well, if you are willing to hire a contractor or a friend handy with a jigsaw and a hammer, you could use plywood lattice to fill the gap.
posted by thinkingwoman at 9:19 AM on December 13, 2010
posted by thinkingwoman at 9:19 AM on December 13, 2010
If you have a jigsaw (or know somebody who does), it shouldn't be too hard to cut the wood along the lines of the stairs. If you paint it white, I think the color coordination will be enough to make it look okay.
you could use plywood lattice to fill the gap
While the pattern of the aforementioned plywood lattice is nice, you certainly don't want pressurized/treated wood inside your home, let alone a home with a child.
posted by suedehead at 9:32 AM on December 13, 2010
you could use plywood lattice to fill the gap
While the pattern of the aforementioned plywood lattice is nice, you certainly don't want pressurized/treated wood inside your home, let alone a home with a child.
posted by suedehead at 9:32 AM on December 13, 2010
How about something like this Wood Wheel or Bracelet and a 3/8" or 1/2" rod affixed vertically from bottom rail and drilled down into step.
The rule of thumb is that if you can keep the space to small enough that a 4" diameter sphere can't pass you are child safe.
posted by meinvt at 10:15 AM on December 13, 2010
The rule of thumb is that if you can keep the space to small enough that a 4" diameter sphere can't pass you are child safe.
posted by meinvt at 10:15 AM on December 13, 2010
Our bannisters were hopelessly non-child friendly when we moved in. We figured we ought to do it right and hired a contractor to replace them entirely. Wasn't too expensive, looks way better, no worries about a stop gap solution giving way under child applied pressure.
posted by Go Banana at 10:20 AM on December 13, 2010
posted by Go Banana at 10:20 AM on December 13, 2010
ack. like this: http://www.kidsmartliving.com/clbagurash15.html
posted by wurly at 10:23 AM on December 13, 2010
posted by wurly at 10:23 AM on December 13, 2010
It appears that your railings fail on two counts. The typical building standard is that no 4 inch sphere can pass through any opening up to a height of 34 inches. No 6 inch sphere can pass through the triangle formed by the steps and the bottom of the guardrail. So it appears from the picture that the vertical balusters are too far apart and the bottom of the guardrail is too high above the stairs.
So you either need to replace the entire guardrail or close off all of the openings from top of the handrail to the bottom rail. The best solution for appearance might be as suggested by Madamina, to have someone install clear Lucite or Lexan plastic sheets all the way from the nose of the stairs to the top of the handrail. The sheets don't have to be cut to the shape of the stairs. You just have to extend the bottom rail downward a couple of inches in a straight line so that a 6 inch sphere can't pass through.
posted by JackFlash at 10:47 AM on December 13, 2010
So you either need to replace the entire guardrail or close off all of the openings from top of the handrail to the bottom rail. The best solution for appearance might be as suggested by Madamina, to have someone install clear Lucite or Lexan plastic sheets all the way from the nose of the stairs to the top of the handrail. The sheets don't have to be cut to the shape of the stairs. You just have to extend the bottom rail downward a couple of inches in a straight line so that a 6 inch sphere can't pass through.
posted by JackFlash at 10:47 AM on December 13, 2010
Response by poster: It appears that your railings fail on two counts. The typical building standard is that no 4 inch sphere can pass through any opening up to a height of 34 inches. No 6 inch sphere can pass through the triangle formed by the steps and the bottom of the guardrail. So it appears from the picture that the vertical balusters are too far apart and the bottom of the guardrail is too high above the stairs.
We've fixed this part already with a mesh that is attached, which isn't shown in the picture.
The best solution for appearance might be as suggested by Madamina, to have someone install clear Lucite or Lexan plastic sheets all the way from the nose of the stairs to the top of the handrail. The sheets don't have to be cut to the shape of the stairs. You just have to extend the bottom rail downward a couple of inches in a straight line so that a 6 inch sphere can't pass through.
This is a pretty good idea.
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:00 AM on December 13, 2010
We've fixed this part already with a mesh that is attached, which isn't shown in the picture.
The best solution for appearance might be as suggested by Madamina, to have someone install clear Lucite or Lexan plastic sheets all the way from the nose of the stairs to the top of the handrail. The sheets don't have to be cut to the shape of the stairs. You just have to extend the bottom rail downward a couple of inches in a straight line so that a 6 inch sphere can't pass through.
This is a pretty good idea.
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:00 AM on December 13, 2010
Response by poster: So it appears from the picture that the vertical balusters are too far apart
Sorry, this is the part we fixed.
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:03 AM on December 13, 2010
Sorry, this is the part we fixed.
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:03 AM on December 13, 2010
I'd see if you could get a piece of wood to extend down from the baserail that matches the handrail.
posted by rhizome at 1:15 PM on December 13, 2010
posted by rhizome at 1:15 PM on December 13, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:16 AM on December 13, 2010