Aluminium Stair Nosing 91x32mm Heavy Duty Double Anti Slip Insert

On a busy commercial stair — an office core, a school corridor, a hospital stairwell — the leading edge takes the punishment, and the leading edge is what people look at when they judge whether the flight is safe. This 91 x 32mm aluminium stair nosing answers both. Two full-length anti-slip PVC insert bands run side by side across a 91mm tread plate, separated by a narrow bare aluminium rib, and the front face drops a straight 32mm onto the riser rather than a deep lip. It is a heavy duty commercial profile in 6063 aluminium at a 5mm gauge, made to sit under contract carpet or a resilient floor covering rather than perch on top of it. Eleven insert colours and six lengths let you put contrast where the specification asks for it and blend in where it does not.

Why it works

Two insert bands rather than one

A 91mm tread plate is wide, and filling it with a single band of PVC gives you one large flexing surface and one long adhesive line. This profile splits the tread into two separate inserts divided by a bare mill aluminium rib. Each band is narrower across its width, so it is better supported, and the rib gives the extrusion a stiffening line down its length. Visually the twin bands also read as a wider block of colour from the top of a flight than a single strip of the same total area, which is the angle from which a descending user actually sees the step edge.

A 5mm gauge, not a 5mm floor finish

The gauge figure quoted for this range is the thickness of the aluminium itself. The 5mm gauge allows for fixing with heavy duty carpets or similar floor coverings — it is what lets the back leg be dressed into a contract carpet, laminate, LVT or tile finish without the nosing standing proud enough to catch a toe. It is a specification of the metal, not a limit on what you can lay against it.

Published grip figures

Test data is published for the standard PVC insert used across this range. The insert achieves category R11 on the DIN 51130:2010 inclined platform test (22.9° corrected, average of six shod results) and, on the BS 7976-2:2002 pendulum test, an average PTV of 66 dry and 54 wet. The UK Slip Resistance Group guidance quoted alongside those figures treats a PTV of 36 or above as low slip potential. The insert is a REACH compliant flexible PVC extrusion grade developed for non-scuff stair nosing use.

Where it is used

Office stair cores and shared circulation routes, schools, colleges and university buildings, healthcare and community premises, retail and leisure, and the common stairs of apartment blocks and hotels. It suits refurbishment as readily as new build: where treads are chipped or worn, the profile gives you a fresh, square, hard-wearing edge without rebuilding the step.

Specifications

Choosing the right option

Start with the insert colour, because that is the safety decision. Where the specification asks for visual contrast between the step edge and the tread finish, work from the light reflectance values in the table above and pick an insert that sits well away from the LRV of your floor covering: White at 79.9 or Yellow at 55.7 against a dark floor; Black at 4.5, Brown at 9.1 or Cobalt Blue at 9.2 against a pale one. Where the nosing is there for wear rather than wayfinding, Dolphin Grey, Ice Grey and Canvas disappear into most commercial schemes.

Then the length. Stock lengths are 2.46m, 2.77m and 3.22m; our 1m, 1.5m and 2m options are cut from those. Order a length that covers the full width of the tread in one piece wherever you can — a butt joint mid-tread is the first place a nosing starts to lift.

If the steps are outside, or exposed to weather and standing water, this is not the profile. A separate Tredsafe insert range is made for external and wet use, and we list the 91 x 32mm version of it separately.

Installation, use and care

The fitting method is straightforward. Make sure the steps are dry, clean, free of debris, level and even. If the profile is pre-drilled, use the holes to mark the drilling positions, then drill and plug the step. Apply a suitable adhesive to the underside of the nosing, set it down onto the step, and screw down with appropriately sized screws. Fit the insert, or the insert pip over the screw head, last.

For maintenance, the specified method is cleaning the inserts with a neutral detergent, rinsing thoroughly with clean water and letting them dry before foot traffic returns. The aluminium channel can be brought back with steel wool or a cloth. Solvent cleaners should not be used on the aluminium.

Frequently asked questions

How many insert bands does this profile have?

Two. The 91mm tread plate carries two separate anti-slip PVC insert bands side by side, divided by a narrow strip of bare mill aluminium, with a thin aluminium margin along the front and back edges.

Can I use this nosing outdoors?

We do not recommend it. The standard PVC insert fitted to this profile is for internal use. For external steps there is a separate Tredsafe insert range, and we list a 91 x 32mm Tredsafe version for that use.

What does the 5mm gauge refer to?

The thickness of the aluminium extrusion, not the thickness of a floor covering. The 5mm gauge allows for fixing with heavy duty carpets or similar floor coverings.

Can it be cut to a non-standard length?

Yes. The profile is supplied here in fixed lengths, and aluminium cuts cleanly on site with a fine-tooth blade — deburr the cut end before fixing. It can also be anodised and cut to length to order; contact us if you need that.

Which insert colour should I specify for contrast?

Use the light reflectance values listed in the specification table and choose an insert whose LRV is well separated from the tread finish. White (79.9) and Yellow (55.7) read strongly against dark floors; Black (4.5), Brown (9.1) and Cobalt Blue (9.2) read strongly against pale ones.

Ordering and delivery

Choose your insert colour and length above; every combination of the eleven colours and six lengths is priced individually. Orders are dispatched on a UK-wide courier service. If you need a quantity we do not show, a colour outside the eleven listed, or a made-to-measure length, contact us before ordering and we will price it against the current range.

View our complete range of stair nosing profiles — aluminium, rubber and PVC options for every application.