What Is The Purpose Of Stair Nosing?

Many people often wonder why they need to install stair nosing in their homes or businesses – what is the point of it? It actually performs a number of functions – apart from the fact that it works to make your staircase safe, the nosing is very aesthetically pleasing. If you still cannot see the benefit in installing these sorts of strips on your stairs and see it as a waste of money, we hope that, by the end of this article, you have been convinced.

These days, most staircases are fitted with a stair nosing. You will actually find it extremely difficult to find one that hasn’t been fitted with 1 inch wide strips of material that are designed to provide your feet with more grip as you traverse between the floors of a building. In many commercial applications, it is actually required that you have a nosing, otherwise the stairs will not comply with codes and regulations.

There is a wide range of materials that can be used for stair nosing, some of the most popular in the home being carpet (which often covers the entire tread, but does work to provide additional grip) and metal. In businesses, you are likely to find metal and even plastic-based nosings that have been designed to provide as much grip as possible. This gives you a wide variety of materials to choose from to ensure that your stairs are safe.

One of the best ways to show you how important stair nosing is to your home or business is to have you walk up and down a staircase that doesn’t have nosing and then to walk up and down one that does. The flights should have the same sort of tread and riser sizes to ensure that you are able to compare the two experiences properly. Do you notice any sort of difference? Does one flight feel a little safer or more stable than the other?

So, whilst stair nosings are required to make your home or business as safe as possible, they are also extremely useful in improving the appearance of the building. If you are having trouble choosing a nosing material that suits your needs (as some are better suited to outdoor applications and others to indoor) make sure that you speak with a stair specialist for advice. Once the material is installed, you’ll wonder why you ever doubted it.