The stairs are haunted

[minoanmiss]

So, I fell down the stairs. I thought that was just me being clumsy, until RK also fell on the stairs. Being much stronger and trained in silks she saved herself from the entire journey, but still, not fun.

I think that first step may be retracting under our feet.

Seriously, the stairs are not as long as our feet, and she and I have pretty normal sized feet.

But, can stairs be modified?

Comments

[filkerdave]

Are they bare wood? Can you put on something to add a little friction?

[minoanmiss]

No, they're carpeted, and I suspect the carpet is more slippery than expected.

[filkerdave]

Might be worth replacing it with something else. I can't think of any way to widen the step without doing major structural work.

[bikergeek]

They've tasted blood.

The low-cost approach would be changing the floor treatment: swapping out carpet for rubberized, nonslip material.

[minoanmiss]

Ahahahaha that they did!

Thank you for the suggestion. I don't know why I don't think of these things....

[bikergeek]

One advantage to your last place was that because it was recent construction, it had to conform to modern building codes, including specifications for maximum tread width and rise for stairs. Old houses around these parts have some real leg-breakers. The first night I stayed at the Solarium, before we even lived there, I slipped on the stairs going upstairs to use the bathroom.

[ceo]

I remember those stairs, they were definitely sketchy.

[bikergeek]

The quarter-turn near the bottom was really nasty.

[rachelkg]

yes, or carpet patches rather than wall-to-wall -- I think the way the wall-to-wall rounds off the edges of the steps is a big factor.

[lauradi7dw]

I have upstairs slippers and downstairs slippers so that I don't wear them on the stairs. Other people's solutions seem more long-term.

[rachelkg]

I was barefoot.

[princessofgeeks]

Yikes! Hope you get acclimated soon. Now you know to hold on to the railing for sure!

[lunabee34]

Eeeeeep. *hugs you both*

[ex_flameandsong751]

Oh no! -gentle hugs- Hope that you can get some nonslip material on the stairs soon!

[amaebi]

I wonder what would be a suitable sacrifice to assuage the bloodlust of. stairs.

Maybe it's a case for a cone of turmeric. I like Ganesh.

[dhampyresa]

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[minoanmiss]

Oh my goodness those made me very hppy indeed :) Thank you!

[dhampyresa]

Yay! Glad you like them.

Fwiw, I got a pair of Rosette Drop Stud Earrings sent to a friend for Christmas (both she and the shop are UK based so it made more sense not to go through me) and she's very happy with them so far.

[cellio]

Ouch! Yeah, that sounds like the steps, not you. I wonder if the carpet has come slightly loose, i.e. the carpet is moving slightly with you as you step. Are you allowed to rip out the carpet to replace it with something, or are you limited to paving over it?

[katarik]

Stairs can be modified; they can be lengthened or shortened, but it is A Process. Easier and cheaper is as suggested above: replace the carpet with modified non-slip stuff. My new house has carpeted stairs and my partner and I are discussing whether part of the plan is to replace that.

The immediate suggestion: are there banisters on both sides of the stairs? If not, can there be?

The even-more-immediate: instead of taking the stairs in the usual fashion, one step at a time with opposite feet, my dad the PT suggested (when I sprained my ankle on the stairs the FIRST time) that while it was healing, you put a foot on the step, put the next foot on the same step, then move to the second step. It's slower but much more stable, and it does help me avoid falls. (The actual idea is to avoid having all your weight on the injured joint, but pleasant side-effect!)

[hitchhiker]

ouch, that sounds like a hazard :(

[chanter1944]

Yikesville! :( Carpet can be slippery stuff. I'm glad no one's been badly injured by the scary stairs here. Oof!

[rachelkg]

Subject of "what can we do to make these stairs safer" has been opened with landlord, along with an initial suggestion of replacing the carpet with single-tread mats; he's generally in favor of handling things in ways that suit current tenants and operating on the assumption of long-term tenancy, so I'm optimistic.