# Door or no door at top of basement stairs?



## bluegrassliving (Oct 18, 2018)

We have an awkward entry from our garage into our laundry/mudroom/basement entry area. We already removed one doorway and widened it and took it up to the ceiling as much as possible (it's a load bearing wall so we couldn't take it all the way up into the ceiling without a lot more work). After doing that I've been considering whether we should get rid of the door at the top of the steps into the basement. A door at the top of the basement steps is pretty common around here but there are times when people don't have doors as well. My main desire around potentially removing it is it's still slightly awkward where the two doors open into each other and not having the basement door would be a better layout and feel more open. That said, is there anything I'm not thinking about in removing a door at the top of the basement? I'm not concerned about the noise. I'm not really concerned about the temperature between the main floor and basement. The only thing that we would have to do is we have a little one due in May and so we will have to baby gate it for a while. But so far I feel like the pluses are more than the minuses. Thanks for the feedback!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Xj1xUu3rf3Yp6f1t6


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

When I finished my basement I replaced the solid door at the top of the steps with a 15 light door. It makes things feel open and at the same time gives safety for little ones (and sometimes big ones). Plus it allows one to see there is more living space. Of course it's a personal preference.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

I would consider the safety, what comes to mind is a family coming in from the cold, removing coats and boots all the the same time in a small area. One fall could be deadly.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

I can see your problem and after living with a similar arrangement without a door at the head of stairs I couldn't take your situation very long. 

Coming up our stairs there is a 36" landing at 1st floor level with a back exit/entrance door straight ahead, a living room to the left and a utility to the right. We designed the exit/entrance door there for transporting furniture up and down. 

As for youngsters, they can be taught to do stairs at a very early age on hands and knees and it's usually fun for them if dad plays that as a game with them. Just make certain mom isn't holding a vid camera.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Mike, I like he idea of the 15 lite door, and it looks good. Basically kids will learn to climb, so baby gates are only good for so long. Falls are the #1 killer in homes, so taking that away is a big item. We have a door to the basement, but leave it cracked so the cat and dogs can nose their way past to use the dog door in the basement if they need to. When we leave for events, etc. we leave the door open so as not to impede their egress in the event of an emergency.


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

The issue I see is that the door needs to be closed—or at least moved—in order to operate the switches adjacent to what I assume is your exterior door.


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## bluegrassliving (Oct 18, 2018)

All good thoughts and feedback guys. After opening and closing the door probably several hundred time and just standing there thinking about it I think what might be the better solution is to move the bank of light switches to the other side of the garage entry door. With the one doorway removed the area definitely feels more open. What's frustrating is sometimes I leave the basement door open since I sometimes go up and down the stairs frequently since this is where my home office is. Now that the area is opened up a bit it doesn't feel quite as cramped. But I think what's annoying is having to close the door to use the switches. So I think I'm leaning towards keeping the door but moving the switches. I've thought about changing which way either of the doors swing but I think it's probably safety issue to have the door to the basement stairs open over them, not to mention I think it would just look odd.


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## 3onthetree (Dec 7, 2018)

I don't think I've ever come across a walled-in stairwell without a door. But why don't you just remove the door slab and try it out for a while? You have until at least the end of 2020 til the baby crawls, if you don't like it hinge it back up, if you like it remove your door frame. Moving the switches requiring you to mirror the exterior door swing might change the travel pattern into the house in an awkward way.

Also don't know the rest of the layout or laundry room there but putting an outswing door into the larger opening you just demo'd, while removing the basement door, could create like a "vestibule" there.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Maybe consider putting the door in garage storage for awhile to determine how it would be without the door in that location.


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## bluegrassliving (Oct 18, 2018)

Good idea on removing it temporarily. I think I'll try that to see what I think


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

bluegrassliving said:


> what might be the better solution is to move the bank of light switches to the other side of the garage entry door.


If the garage entry door swings outward from this area, that could work well. If it swings in, then the switches would be behind the door.


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## JohnReesnkv (Nov 18, 2020)

Removing the door it's an interesting idea but don't you think it can be a little dangerous? Falls on the steps can be deadly. But if not removing you can just replace your door with a new one, maybe a lighter door that will keep at least a bit of safety can be a good variant. After all, if it is your cabinet you need a door, all cabinets need to have doors. I recently replaced some interiors doors in our house and because I was in hurry to finish the replacement I choose readymade doors. I really recommend their services to everyone.


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