Advice much appreciated on staircase 'restoration'

[ban-all-sheds]

Irrelevant , common sense , polished step is slippery , slippery stairs is dangerous.

1) Who said that if he has wooden stairs that they would be polished?

2) The world is full of dangers - common sense demands that you rank them in importance.

Common sense says that if you want to use a figure of "4000 falls by children on stairs" to prove that people should not have stairs which are not carpeted then you must know over what period those 4000 falls occurred (e.g. an average of 40 per year over a 100 year period is not the same as 4000 per year), and you must know if they were all proven to be due to lack of carpets, and you must be able to put them in perspective by comparing them with the number of falls occasioned by ill fitting or damaged carpets.

Otherwise you haven't got common sense, you've got superstition, old wives tales, etc.

 

[Doggit]

Kids fall down stairs, whether they are carpeted or not, simply because they are clumsy. And carpeted stairs can come loose, so nothing is set in stone - either way.

At the end of it, we are here to help the OP achieve what he wants, not to nanny him. But as long as he doesn't highly polish the stairs, then he should be fine, but it's a worthwhile thing to consider foxhole, so maybe leave the sanding at 80 grade, and then use Osmo oil that benefits from a rough surface.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I once saw a really nice looking alternative to a carpeted or a wooden stair - it had a runner, but the exposed wood was hardwood (oak, IIRC), and the carpet was recessed into the treads and risers so that it lay flush.

It looked very good.

 

[foxhole]

1) Who said that if he has wooden stairs that they would be polished?

2) The world is full of dangers - common sense demands that you rank them in importance.

Common sense says that if you want to use a figure of "4000 falls by children on stairs" to prove that people should not have stairs which are not carpeted then you must know over what period those 4000 falls occurred (e.g. an average of 40 per year over a 100 year period is not the same as 4000 per year), and you must know if they were all proven to be due to lack of carpets, and you must be able to put them in perspective by comparing them with the number of falls occasioned by ill fitting or damaged carpets.

Otherwise you haven't got common sense, you've got superstition, old wives tales, etc.

Op stated he is oiling the stairs which leaves it slippery.
The rest of you post is as I said irrelevant.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Op stated he is oiling the stairs which leaves it slippery.

It does not.

The rest of you post is as I said irrelevant.

It is not.

You are attempting to brush those questions aside , not because they are irrelevant, but because you either have no idea of the answers, and can't be bothered to find out, or are frightened to find out in case they reveal that your "concerns" are actually ignorant, superstitious old wives tales, or you do know the answers and you know that they reveal that your "concerns" are actually being ignorant, superstitious old wives tales.


Common sense, and common decency, says that if you want to use any data to support a position you must properly understand the data, and its relation to other data.

You obviously possess neither.

 

[Gerrydelasel]

It is not.

Yes it is. All he said was "Have you considered the dangers of an uncarpeted stair?" e.g. consider if it may be shiny and slippery. He didn't say "you must carpet your stair or everyone will definitely die and questions will be asked in parliament".

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Oh look - another person with faulty reasoning, who thinks that it is acceptable to use statistics in ways which are so misleading as to be, for all practical purposes, lies.

 

[foxhole]

Yes it is. All he said was "Have you considered the dangers of an uncarpeted stair?" e.g. consider if it may be shiny and slippery. He didn't say "you must carpet your stair or everyone will definitely die and questions will be asked in parliament".

Thanks, obvious Ban struggles with understanding my posts.

 

[matz]

polished wood staircases in homes are more dangerous than carpeted in the context of getting injured as a result of using them because alot of people walk round the house in socks....

socks and polished/ oiled wood = increased chance of slipping.

 

[Alexhenshaw]

Thanks for the suggestions - much has been learnt. I've decided to have a carpet fitted eventually; not be because of the dangers but it will probably save me many hours of my life.

I think most people can be taught to traverse steps adequately. Wooden steps look fantastic I think.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Thanks, obvious Ban struggles with understanding my posts.

I understand them perfectly.

You lie and throw made-up figures around in an attempt to scare people.

 

[foxhole]

I understand them perfectly.

You lie and throw made-up figures around in an attempt to scare people.

Figures from H&E web site, but I suppose they might lie.

You obviously missed this from the OP. So will help your poor eyesight .
''I have taken a liking to it so have decided to try and sand it down so it all looks similar before I oil the wood.''

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Figures from H&E web site,

Good, that's a start.

Maybe the penny is slowly dropping, and it is dawning on you that if you decide to quote a figure:

Just in the UK over 4000 falls by children on stairs.

in support of your advice against uncarpeted stairs then you must understand it and its significance. You must appreciate that a question like "Is that 4,000 worldwide since records began, or 4,000 per day in London alone?" is not irrelevant. You must know how many of that 4,000 were shown to be caused by the stairs lacking a carpet. You must know how that figure compares to other causes, because, for example, if the equivalent one for falls caused by tripping on damaged carpets is 5,000 then the 4,000 is evidence for uncarpeted stairs, not against.

but I suppose they might lie.

Unlikely.

You obviously missed this from the OP. So will help your poor eyesight .
''I have taken a liking to it so have decided to try and sand it down so it all looks similar before I oil the wood.''

I did see it, thanks.

Just as I can see (and feel) wood in my house which has been oiled and is not slippery. Is it the case that you need some help? Does it come as news to you that when people talk about oiling wood they don't mean pouring this all over it?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

polished wood staircases in homes are more dangerous than carpeted in the context of getting injured as a result of using them because alot of people walk round the house in socks....

socks and polished/ oiled wood = increased chance of slipping.

And bare feet and furniture = increased chance of broken toes.

So, given that, would you advise people to get rid of their furniture, or would you advise them not to walk around barefoot?


Pans of boiling water and unsupervised toddlers in the kitchen = increased chance of horrific life changing or fatal accidents.

So, given that, would you advise people to never boil water, or would you advise them not to allow toddlers unsupervised in the kitchen?


Crossing the road without looking properly = increased chance of being run over by a vehicle.

So, given that, would you advise people to never cross roads, would you advise against the presence of vehicles on the roads, or would you advise care when crossing?


Get a grip, and wake up to the fact that what is needed, just as in every other walk of life, is that people should actually THINK, not blunder about expecting that someone else will have made sure that they never suffer as a result of their blundering.

 

[Gerrydelasel]

people should actually THINK, not blunder about expecting that someone else will have made sure that they never suffer as a result of their blundering.

We shall remember that on the day you fall down some glossy stairs.