Are Stair Nosings a Legal Requirement?
When it comes to whether or not stair nosing is a legal requirement, it’s a bit of a grey area. In this article, we’ll discuss what your responsibilities are as a business owner to ensure you’re compliant with any safety guidelines to keep your property safe for employees and guests.
What Is Stair Nosing?
Stair nosings or stair edges are protective coverings that are installed on the edges of stairs to reinforce their stability and aid traction. They are designed to improve the safety of the staircase.
Stair nosings can be made to serve different functions depending on their environment, for example, they can be designed to offer better visibility on the stairs (for dark areas or for people with sight difficulties). They can also be designed to offer more protection and durability on the stair tread, meaning they last and look better for longer.
Is Stair Nosing a Legal Requirement?
Stair nosings play a crucial role in enhancing the safety of any commercial staircase. While they are not a legal requirement in so much as every commercial staircase must have stair nosings, it’s widely accepted that any commercial property that sees heavy foot traffic, such as hospitals, schools and leisure centres, should have stair nosings installed.
If an accident on a staircase occurs and it was the result of the staircase not being safe enough or the stair nosings were incorrectly placed, you may be held liable for any damages.
What are the Correct Dimensions for Stair Nosings?
For nosing projects, the recommended dimensions for the stair tread should measure between 50-65mm and the riser at 30-55mm to allow enough band on the nose of the step. It’s worth noting that these measurements are just guidelines, as you will need to take into account step size and type because not all staircases are the same.
Do Stair Nosings Legally Required to Be Specific Colours?
It’s recommended that stair nosings should be distinguishable from the colour of the risers and treads of the staircase. For example, a dark grey or black staircase should have silver or chrome stair nosings installed to provide a clear and direct contrast to aid visibility and safety.
The statutory requirement is that your stair nosings should be clearly seen in normal conditions – where the stairs are illuminated by natural or artificial light (not in emergency situations like a fire).
More specifically, stair nosings have their own colour scale or Light Reflectance Value (LRV). This value is judged between 0 (black) and 100 (white) and it’s recommended that your nosings should be at least 30 LRV points difference in comparison to your riser and tread colour to create a clear ladder effect.
The Disability Discrimination Act
The DDA is arguably the most important legislation that organisations and businesses need to be aware of when it comes to building regulations, codes and safety.
The DDA was brought in to ensure companies were not discriminating against people with disabilities and in turn, carry out necessary accessibility changes to ensure access was inclusive for all. For example, stairs would need to be slip-resistant and signs indicating any notable hazards must be on show.
The Main Benefits of Stair Nosing
The main benefit of stair nosing is that it protects the lip of your stair treads and can be designed to be slip-resistant. However, stair nosings don’t have to damage your staircase’s aesthetic appeal. We stock a wide variety of durable and attractive stair nosing products to maintain your staircase’s flawless appearance.
If you have a dark wood staircase, we’d recommend a pewter, chrome or polished brass addition as dark wood works well with both colours. If your staircase is dark grey or black in colour (like most commercial staircases), we’d go for a silver-based colour, like pewter, chrome or brushed chrome. These colours provide a strong LRV contrast and will be visible to all.
Order a set of premier lips or stair nosing from Stair Rods Direct today, and you’ll qualify for free UK delivery when you spend £75.
Enhance the Safety of Your Stairs Today
If you’re looking to make your stairs safer, why not consider purchasing stair nosing? We offer a range of stair nosing products in various sizes and styles to suit any staircase, whether the treads are curved, straight or bespoke. We have tread nosing styles and colours to match your existing stairs to ensure aesthetic style, safety and visibility.