Aluminium Bullnose Stair Nosing 68x40mm, Cut to Size 700-2700mm

Stair goings are rarely a round number. Rather than buying a stock bar and cutting it back on site, take the measurement off your setting-out and enter it in millimetres, anywhere from 700mm to 2700mm. Every nosing is cut to that length before it ships, so it arrives ready to fix with no burred ends and no offcut you cannot use.

The profile is a bullnose stair nosing with a 68mm tread plate and a 40mm rounded nose, extruded from aluminium alloy 6063 T6 in a substantial 5mm wall thickness. A single full-width channel runs the length of the tread and carries a 49.5mm insert, which is what gives you the anti-slip surface and the visual contrast at the step edge. It is the same extrusion as our 1 metre and 2 metre stock lengths, and the only difference is who does the cutting.

Why a bullnose rather than a square edge

The rounded nose is the point of this profile. A square-edged nosing presents a hard arris at exactly the height a shin or a shoulder meets it on a fall, and that arris is also the first thing to chip when a trolley or a ladder is dragged up the flight. The bullnose rolls that edge away. It also sheds a mop rather than catching it, which matters more than it sounds on a stair that gets cleaned daily.

At 5mm of metal this is a heavier extrusion than the slimline profiles, so it takes knocks without deforming. The trade-off is that it stands proud of the going by that 5mm, so it wants a floor covering of roughly matching thickness butted up to it, or a neat reveal where it meets a hard floor.

Choosing the finish and the insert

Two decisions, and they are independent of one another. The carrier finish is the metal you see around the insert. Mill aluminium is the plain untreated extrusion and the most economical. Satin is the soft even sheen most specifiers reach for. Polished is bright and near-mirror, and shows fingermarks and scuffs faster in a busy stairwell. Black anodised suits dark flooring and contemporary schemes.

The insert is the working surface, and it is where the safety performance sits. The manufacturer's published slip resistance values for the insert materials are: castellated PVC 76 wet / 85 dry, Olympic Grip 71 wet / 102 dry, smooth textured PVC 56 wet / 65 dry, and the aluminium inserts 54 wet / 82 dry. Castellated PVC is the workhorse, with fine longitudinal ribs, the widest colour range and the best wet figure of the group. Olympic Grip is a coarse gritted band for the busiest flights. Smooth textured is the flatter, quieter look. The aluminium inserts are chosen for appearance rather than grip, so keep them away from wet routes.

On contrast: Approved Document M expects a step edge to be visually distinguishable from the tread. A pale insert against a dark floor covering, or the reverse, does that job far better than a metal insert in a metal carrier.

Interior stairs, low to medium traffic

We would rather be straight about this than sell you the wrong thing. The maker rates this profile for stairs with low to medium traffic volumes, and is explicit that heavy footfall and repeated impacts can wear through the anodised finish to reveal the natural aluminium beneath. For a school corridor stair, a station concourse or anything carrying continuous traffic, specify a heavier-duty profile. It is also an internal product: external steps and wet processing areas need a glass-fibre reinforced insert, which is a different build.

Specifications

Measuring and ordering

Measure the full width of the tread, edge to edge, and order that figure. We cut to within 5mm. Where a flight is out of square, which is common on older concrete stairs, measure every step rather than assuming they match, and order each length separately. Cut lengths are made to your measurement, so they are non-returnable except where faulty. Check the figures before you order.

Installation, use and care

Fix mechanically with countersunk screws into plugs, at roughly 300mm centres and no closer than 50mm to either end, onto a substrate that is sound, dry and level. Pilot the holes on timber. A bed of grab adhesive under the tread plate alongside the screws removes the drumming you otherwise get from a mechanically fixed profile on a hollow tread. Clean with a neutral-pH detergent and a damp mop, and avoid solvent cleaners and abrasive pads, which will dull an anodised or polished finish. The PVC inserts are replaceable, so a worn tread edge can be renewed without lifting the extrusion. A matching ramp detail and an extension tread are available if you are building the going out as well as edging it.

Frequently asked questions