Stair nosings play an important role in commercial stair safety, helping improve slip resistance, increase step visibility and protect stair edges in high-traffic environments. They are widely specified across commercial buildings, public access areas and refurbishment projects where compliance, accessibility and long-term durability are important considerations.
In the UK, stair nosings are commonly specified in line with guidance outlined within Building Regulations Approved Document K and Approved Document M, alongside accessibility considerations under the Equality Act 2010. This guide explains what stair nosings are, where they are commonly used and the key compliance considerations that should be understood when specifying stair nosings for commercial projects.
What are Stair Nosings?
Stair Nosings are covers, made from a variety of materials such as aluminium or brass, that envelope the edge of each step on a staircase. Stair Nosings can be used as a solution to providing sufficient grip to stop people from slipping in high-traffic or wet environments. They can also be used to highlight the edge of the step so that people can see it better, this can be done using a variety of infill options, such as our castellated PVC infills, which come in a variety of colours, so that you can ensure you are adhering to Light Reflective Values (which is a legal requirement as of 2010).
To find out more about light reflectance values, visit our LRV page here.
Do you have to have Stair Nosings in a commercial property?
Stair nosings are commonly specified within commercial buildings to support stair safety, accessibility and compliance requirements. Building Regulations Approved Document K and Approved Document M both provide guidance relating to stair safety, visibility and accessibility considerations within commercial and public environments.
In the UK you can refer to the Building Regulation Document K, Protecting from Falling and Document M, Access to and use of buildings.
There are three different aspects to be aware of when it comes to Stair Nosings and their regulations:
- Size of Nosing – The recommended size of the tread should be 50-65 mm and the riser height should be 30-55 mm.
- Slip Resistance – The material on the tread must provide a high level of slip resistance. Please note that all CAT Stair Nosings pass the Pendulum Test and all are designated with a low slip potential.
- LRV’s – The nosing is required to have a distinctive difference in colour from the floor covering. Measured as an LRV, Light Reflective Value, the difference between the floor covering and nosing must be a minimum of 30 points.
According to FeFRA – “The Equality Act 2010 (which replaced the 2004 Disability Discrimination Act) requires that all new and refurbished public buildings and workplaces comply with current regulations via their ‘Access Statement’, ensuring safe entry, exit and safe passage throughout the building. For visually impaired people this means amongst other things that there must be a good visual contrast between various elements of the building, including doorways, fixtures, and fittings.”
This statement includes steps, so, is there enough of a contrast between each step that it would be easier for someone who is visually impaired to see them? No matter whether you are in a hotel, residential care home, or an office block, if not, then Stair Nosings with castellated infills will give you the chance to improve your LRV before it becomes an issue.
Where Are Stair Nosings Commonly Used?
Stair nosings are commonly specified across offices, hospitality venues, education facilities, healthcare environments, retail spaces and public buildings where safe stair navigation and long-term durability are important. They are frequently used within commercial refurbishments and public access projects to help improve stair visibility, reduce edge wear and support accessibility requirements.
What are the benefits?
Having stair nosings can offer a variety of benefits, including safety, protection, maintenance, and aesthetics.
Stair Nosings increase the surface of the actual step very slightly which greatly decreases the chance of someone missing a step or falling down the stairs, along with being easier to see. Boosting the visibility in low light areas is crucial for people to be able to see where the steps end and the step down starts, it also means you are complying with The Equality Act 2010.
An added benefit is that Stair Nosings are easier to maintain if your stairs are in a high-traffic area, there is also something there that offers protection to the part of the step that is used the most. Similarly, if part of your step is broken, it will be easier to replace just the stair nosing or infill, than fix the structure of the actual staircase.
Stair Nosings also come in a variety of different materials and finishes, for example, our brass stair nosings have 4 different finishes, and our aluminium nosings come in 6 different finishes, which means you can use them as a design feature. If you are designing a new theatre or stately home, then brass stair nosings offer a high-end, luxury detail to each step. Or if you are designing a restaurant or office block, aluminium nosings offer the perfect solution as an easy-to-maintain but still modern option.
Bespoke Options
You could also create a completely bespoke stair nosing option for your commercial project, whether that is creating a stair nosing with a tread infill the same size and colour as the riser detail or creating a black circle effect on the riser of the nosing, using black textured infill behind the holes and black castellated infill on the tread section.
There is also the option to add Laser Engraving into the stair nosing, which could be for branding or instructional purposes.
In conclusion, stair nosings have a lot of great benefits to offer a commercial project, they can help in creating less hassle in the future, along with providing a new design feature that will add that high-end finishing touch.
Looking for Stair Nosings?
At CAT we offer a large range of stair nosing options and are the largest holder of brass products in the UK. We are also pioneers within the industry, leading the way in new ways to design bespoke profiles for our clients. So, whether you are looking for a product for a restaurant, hotel, theatre, stately home or large residential property, we can offer the perfect solution.