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IS THERE REALLY A PURPOSE FOR STAIR NOSING?

16 October 2017

Nearly everyone in world has used stairs at some point in their lives. Stairs are an ancient and very popular architectural feature found in nearly every structure throughout history. While everybody knows what stairs are, not everyone knows what stair nosing is used for. In fact, many people have seen it, stepped on it, and have even accidentally hit their shins on it, but not a lot of people know its purpose.

Some folks think it’s installed for aesthetics’ sake, while others believe it’s there to add some traction to stairs. Still, many others have absolutely no clue what it’s for. So, if you’ve ever wondered what the purpose of stair nosing really is, then you will discover it’s practical uses and overall purpose here:

What You Need to Know About Stair Nosing

  • Adds structural integrity – stair nosing is installed on the edges of stairs to add some measure of structural integrity, allowing the edges to remain whole even if they are tread upon with force. This applies for both concrete and wooden stairs, which may chip or break if heavily traversed upon with force, or with constant repetition.
  • Additional safety – stair nosing adds an extra inch or two of treading room so your feet won’t accidentally slip. Rubber and ribbed aluminium nosing is also specifically designed to provide extra grip to modern footwear. This allows for more traction if the stairs or one’s footwear happens to be wet, thereby preventing accidental slips from occurring.
  • Increases the lifespan of staircases – not a lot of people may notice, but adding nosing not only increases a stair’s structural integrity, prevents slipping accidents, but it also increases its overall lifespan, potentially saving you a lot of money on repairs, refurbishing, or replacements.
  • It is mandated by law – in some areas, not having stair nosing installed in public stairs can be reason enough for a fine, as these have been deemed a mandatory public safety feature.

Stair nosing is easy to install and can be integrated into any pre-existing staircase, and they come in a wide assortment of types for different settings and purposes. There are ribbed and textured stair nosing made of of either steel, aluminium, rubber, hard plastics, and even wooden varieties are available.

While stair nosing is available in nearly every home depot store or a specialty supply store, it is highly recommended to have staircase professionals install them for you.

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