Hello everyone,
we have an open stairwell in our semi-detached house that runs from the basement up to the attic. It worked fine for two people, but with a child it’s quite inconvenient noise-wise when one person wants to work or sleep in the attic while the partner watches TV or plays with the child downstairs.
Therefore, we want to have a partition wall with a door installed at the top of the stairs in the attic. To avoid making the stairwell too dark or cramped and to keep natural light, we are considering fitting the upper part of the partition wall, where the roof slopes, with glass.
I have attached a picture with a sketch showing roughly what it should look like.
We have a few questions based on our considerations and would appreciate your feedback and possibly your own experiences 🙂
For the frame, we are considering either metal (aluminum) rails or wood. The floor is glued parquet on a screed with underfloor heating.
Can the frame, whether aluminum or wood, be simply mounted on the parquet?
Are both aluminum and wood frames equally effective at sound absorption, or what should be taken into account to optimize this?
Is a high-quality door important in this context?
What do you think about having the door right at the top of the stairs? Do you have experience with this? Is it very dangerous to have the steps start directly after the door?
Of course, having a small landing before the door would be nicer, but unfortunately, it takes up a lot of space.
Best regards
Sonnengarten
we have an open stairwell in our semi-detached house that runs from the basement up to the attic. It worked fine for two people, but with a child it’s quite inconvenient noise-wise when one person wants to work or sleep in the attic while the partner watches TV or plays with the child downstairs.
Therefore, we want to have a partition wall with a door installed at the top of the stairs in the attic. To avoid making the stairwell too dark or cramped and to keep natural light, we are considering fitting the upper part of the partition wall, where the roof slopes, with glass.
I have attached a picture with a sketch showing roughly what it should look like.
We have a few questions based on our considerations and would appreciate your feedback and possibly your own experiences 🙂
For the frame, we are considering either metal (aluminum) rails or wood. The floor is glued parquet on a screed with underfloor heating.
Can the frame, whether aluminum or wood, be simply mounted on the parquet?
Are both aluminum and wood frames equally effective at sound absorption, or what should be taken into account to optimize this?
Is a high-quality door important in this context?
What do you think about having the door right at the top of the stairs? Do you have experience with this? Is it very dangerous to have the steps start directly after the door?
Of course, having a small landing before the door would be nicer, but unfortunately, it takes up a lot of space.
Best regards
Sonnengarten
Sonnengarten schrieb:
Something like acoustic panels or curtainsDepending on the expected or acceptable outcome, a really heavy curtain would actually have been my first attempt. Getting it completely closed and still looking nice is not exactly affordable. Sleeping without noise from above... I think that won’t be very easy.
You would need to see the entire room layout as a floor plan. Maybe it could also be an option, and at least easier to implement, to separate the whole room about 1 meter (3 feet) after the staircase.
W
wiltshire4 Dec 2025 21:26Sonnengarten schrieb:
I had also considered acoustic panels or curtains, but they all seemed quite expensive and, according to opinions in forums, are generally recommended only in combination with proper walls and partitions. The effect of good acoustic elements in an attic room is significant, but less than that of a closed door—if you measure it by reduction in sound pressure. What makes sound unpleasant is not just the volume in decibels, but also the frequency spectrum. There is a difference between how much the sound level measured in dB decreases and the nature or quality of the noise itself. You have probably experienced how “bare walls” can make a noise very unpleasant. When dealing with “children’s noise,” it is worthwhile to differentiate. Both parameters—sound pressure and noise quality—are important for well-being, which can have very different requirements.
Sometimes the best solution is a combination of both.
The effect of acoustic panels in a generally bare-walled stairwell also benefits all floors and the rooms connected to them.
We have LignoTrend acoustic panels installed on the ceiling of our unusually tall room. I would estimate the material cost to be around €150 per square meter (approximately $160 per sq ft) today, and I recommend covering the entire ceiling surface. You’re right, it’s not cheap.
And without a landing, I also wouldn’t have the door open toward the staircase.
Sliding doors generally seal less well or become very expensive, though they do provide good effectiveness.
Go ahead and try out a few things.
S
Sonnengarten4 Dec 2025 21:49Arauki11 schrieb:
Completely enclosing it and making it look nice won’t be exactly cheap.
Sleeping upstairs without noise... I think that won’t be easy.
You would need to see the entire floor plan of the room. I will also get a quote on the price; I was roughly expecting around 3,000€ (about $3,200),
but depending on the type of panels and door, etc., it will probably be more expensive now.
Regarding noise, I’ve gotten used to quite a lot by now and can even sleep through noise if I have to,
because with a child you don’t always get much sleep, but it would be nice if the attic could be a bit quieter.
I do have a floor plan, maybe that will give a better overview!
W
wiltshire4 Dec 2025 21:56We had a very similar situation in our townhouse from 2001 to 2019 and resolved it like this:
Since our bedroom was upstairs, it was especially important to us that the then small children had a safe route to reach us.
Since our bedroom was upstairs, it was especially important to us that the then small children had a safe route to reach us.
S
Sonnengarten4 Dec 2025 21:56wiltshire schrieb:
We have LignoTrend acoustic panels installed on the ceiling of our unusually high room. Today, I would estimate the material costs at around €150 per square meter (about $160 per square yard) and recommend fully covering the entire ceiling area.
Also, without a landing on the staircase, I wouldn’t have the door open towards the stairs either. Sliding doors generally seal less effectively or become quite expensive. They do provide good results nonetheless. Try experimenting with a few options.Great, I’ll take a look at LignoTrend — I might have a use for them somewhere else.
And yes, you’re right, maybe I should check out a few doors, try them out, and find a compromise solution. It doesn’t have to be completely airtight but perhaps a combination of different components that helps 🙂
I’ll also roughly calculate the costs now to see where we end up; that might make things more practical…
In any case, I just realized that you could plan the anteroom area only around the door opening into the room, not along the whole wall. Then you could close off the area above the door up to the ceiling. I was thinking all this time that you’d need to build a dropped ceiling above the door, which would get complicated and create an awkward step above it…
Arauki11 schrieb:
Sleeping upstairs without noise I don’t quite see it that way. It’s just supposed to reduce noise somewhat.
Sonnengarten schrieb:
@ypg A door with a glass panel is a good idea; the only question is whether it also provides sound insulation, but I can find out. Living room doors often officially have this kind of door to make the hallway brighter. That should be sufficient for family use at home.
Sonnengarten schrieb:
I also thought about acoustic panels or curtains, but those all looked quite expensive. They are indeed quite expensive. Thick felt, on the other hand, is very affordable at stores like Poco or similar. It is also available in silver-gray, which is light and could help soften the stairwell area.
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