Can you put a door at the top of the stairs?

I agree with jck910. A door at the top would be better if there room for it to swing into your office space. If you install it at the bottom it will feel very closed off and, as you mentioned, could make it difficult to move anything past it.

I have a open space on the top, and a door can’t block the noise.

I think the only option is to have a door at the bottom. If there are more options, I’m willing to listen. :).

It helped to see the upper view of the staircase. Is it possible to give us a wider view of the space at the bottom? It's hard to tell what you have to work with from the current photo.

Here are more photos of my situation.

I guess you just have to decide how much furniture you need to move up there. For sure, if the door opens perpendicular to the stairs (not at the foot), then you are limited by the need to make a turn before going up. There are reasons this isn't a common solution. :)

If you want your office on the 4th floor, what's on the other 3 levels? I am assuming the main living space would be on the ground or 1st floor, leaving 2 floors in between that and your office. Is the rest of your family that loud that you need a door to block out the noise?

I think using glass is a great solution. Your office would look something like this if you used glass blocks. Add your door and you've got it!

Pictures of glass enclosed stairwells taken from the top, are almost non-existent in Google Images. But here's a couple that give a vague idea of the general concept.

No door IMO if this is the 4 th floor how much noise will you have from the floors below since the 3rd is probably bedrooms. If you close in that stairwell you will never get anything up and down those stairs since the open spot is what you need to lift anything over to get it positioned to go up the stairs

My townhouse was built like yours is currently, later owners walled off the fourth floor at the top- extended the partial height walls all the way to the ceiling and added a closet. The door was in line with the side of the stair. Worked great. You end up with a small landing at the top where your (closet?) door is.

After seeing all the comment and suggestions, I think it’s better to wall off on the fourth floor. Does anyone have a idea that how much would it cost approximately? Or is it doable to do it by myself? I consider myself a half craft man but I’ve never done anything like this.

Pricing depends on where you live. Lots swear by youtube videos check it out to see if you have the skills needed

Roy-

If you are only semi-handy, this might not be the right project for you. Framing doorways, and hanging and trimming out doors requires a certain skill level to do correctly. The first one or two that I did for myself are not something I was proud of. I also hope there is room to leave a landing: having a door right at the edge of steps like that is not aesthetically pleasing and is not as safe as having a landing.

In days past I've done a lot of remodeling but now when I go to Home Depot or Lowes I'm shocked by prices. No idea what it would cost. It's dependent on myriad details. Per the project, I don't think it would be that bad, but have no idea of your skillset. (Don't put a door immediately at stairs. There must be a landing space.) I fully believe it's easier, cheaper and generally better to "wall off" on the 4th floor.

It looks like the problem is the same whichever end you put a door. There will be a 90 degree turn at the door. If the door is at the bottom, there could be a hinged section of wall to get furniture onto the stair. At the top it could be lifted over the low wall.

a hinged section of wall is a lot more complicated.

It is but the only way to get large pieces of furniture up and into the room. Easiest to choose flat pack furniture or built-ins If the walls are necessary. The glass is appealing but not the glass block

Some situations may require a larger than normal interior door. There's a lot that can be moved through a 36" door opening.

Agree. Glass block would add a lot of complication, to say nothing of weight. Singles panes are much more practical.

Yes, glass is better than glass block. Also, where did you get these?! Lucky...

I bought two costco packs before the whole thing started 😂😂. I guess I just got lucky.

I’m thinking if a signal pane wall, where I can cut a block on that wall and make it rotates 90 degrees would work. I don’t if if that’s practical when install and the cut the wall tho

Would enclose top of stairs like this.

I agree with @Yardvaark.

You would have to create a sizable foyer at the bottom and wall+door it off. Ughh, don't want.

Or something like this in foyer.

One problem with walling in the bottom is that it will visually, and probably physically, "destroy" the stairs. And then, there's almost no room before you hit a wall. Up top, those problems don't exist.

So this was an interesting solution or the bottom of the stairs, but not sure how you’d deal with the handrail/door knob, since you have a full wall on the right. This was an example with doors at the top, but that would involve dry walling to close off the upstairs. Unless you put up a post and frame in a window/glass.

I just saw this photo and it made me think of your post. A sliding barn-style door at the

bottom of the stairs. Not sure if you have the width you’d need on that wall, and you might need to change how the white door opens (Hinge on different side, etc.). But it’s an idea.

You can make doors like this as farmhouse or modern as you’d like.

We would recommend something that @Katie B. is recommending with one large barn door. It will not be soundproof, but it can block off the space for sound reduction. It would be easy to remove later on if desired and maintain access for furniture. You wouldn't have to do any drywall as well.

We'd recommend:

• 1x6 header board across the wall that braced the wall by the door.
• Take your opening width (including stairs) and add 3-5" for size. Take your opening height measurement and subtract 5.5"
• We'd recommend an I-shape hardware kit for this measurement example.

There are some great ideas on this thread and hopefully this is helpful to show you "how it might work."

Kristen

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