Over our 30 years in the industry, we’ve been asked countless times - are stair nosings really necessary? We’re realistic. If some cataclysmic event happened today and all stair nosings vanished from the face of the Earth, it probably wouldn’t be a huge deal. In the grand scheme of things, you could live without them. But, do you really want to?
Here are the reasons why stair nosing can be an important piece of your flooring installation.
When the front of the step looks raveled and worn, it needs to be replaced to renew the look of the stairs. The cost of replacing carpet or flooring can cost more than it would have been to install stair nosings at the outset.
A great alternative to replacing the floorcovering is to retro-fit a stair nosing on the edge of the step. You simply choose an appropriate stair nosing (based on width, thickness, finish, etc.), pull back the carpet or flooring, and install the stair nosing on the edge of the step. The existing flooring on the rest of the step would butt up to the back of the stair nosing and there would be no need to install new flooring.
This not only takes care of an unsightly situation, but also eliminates that problem from happening again, giving you years of extended life for your flooring on the steps.
You can find stair nosings in just about any color, finish, size and shape. No matter if you’re trying to match the flooring or contrast, you should have no problem finding that “just right” accessory for your project.
Also, the visual impact of a stair nosing helps to differentiate the edge of the step from the rest of the tread portion. When the carpet or flooring isn’t broken up by a stair nosing, it makes it difficult to see where the step begins and ends, with one step blending into the next. This is when those graceful people, like myself, tend to “miss” a step and take a tumble!
Being able to see the individual steps and their edges makes it much easier to go up and down the steps without incident.