Building a hatch in the stairs to separate the floors

[PKL]

Hello,

Is there anyone here who has a good idea on how I can solve this technically without the children getting it on their heads? I've considered having gas struts on both sides that lift it up, similar to a car hood. See pictures of fully open, half open, and closed

 

[peroande]

The hatch must be stable enough for a group of children jumping on it. It will be a heavy construction. How does evacuation work in an emergency if the hatch is closed? Can't you set up walls around the staircase and a door instead?

 

[Barnrikehuset]

Now, I don't know how big the children are, but sure, there are a few critical years when they're small and don't have risk awareness...

I would be worried about someone cutting off their fingers. If it's like an attic, a common solution is a hatch (with an integrated ladder).

But for living space, it seems tricky. Set up a high non-climbable railing or trellis up to the ceiling and a good child gate when they're small. At the gate, it's not a sheer drop at least if someone were to climb over (but some training might be needed around this).

If we're going to go off-topic a bit, I've tested a few child gates over the years and there's only one that's okay, and that's foldable wooden gates. Most others with steel tubes and similar have overengineered locking mechanisms that are annoying if you want to quickly get past with the laundry bag or the like. THE WORST are roll-up gates that seem to require two hands to open and close, meaning you can't carry things past by yourself.

 

[pelpet]

I'm pondering the same problem, and I have a few ideas that should work. The simple and cheap one is a heavy curtain on the stairs, or possibly a folding door. The more expensive option is a roller shutter door that can be rolled up, similar to the shutters used in shopping malls.

 

[PKL]

Thank you for your answers! It would be fun if it could be electric like a garage door but also have the option to open it effortlessly. Jalusi sounded interesting. I'll keep pondering about this.

 

[Eld]

Gates in wood are cheap and work well, the only downside is that when you drop them (not if but when) they leave ugly marks on the stairs. There must of course be something to screw them into on both sides (which probably applies to all gates) and you may have to replace a couple of wood screws that unscrew with machine screws and nylock nuts.