PVC Stair Nosing 60x32mm Heavy Duty Anti Slip Glow Edge, 11 Colours

If you are specifying a stair core that has to stay usable when the lights go out, this is the profile that does it without a cable. It is a heavy-duty PVC stair nosing measuring 60mm across the tread and 32mm down the riser, with a 13mm photoluminescent strip running along the front edge and a contrasting anti-slip PVC insert set behind it. In daylight it works as a plain hard-wearing step edge. In a power cut the front strip keeps glowing green for hours on nothing but the light it absorbed earlier in the day. Eleven insert colours let you set the contrast against the floor covering you already have, and four lengths from 1.0m to 3.22m cover most stair widths without a joint.

Why it works

The glow strip charges off the lights you already have

The luminous strip is a europium-doped strontium aluminate compound with a peak wavelength of 520nm, which is the green most human eyes pick up fastest in low light. The manufacturer states the system requires no electrical connection and no special maintenance, and that ordinary room lighting — daylight, fluorescent tube or standard tungsten filament — is all that is needed to activate it. Published performance is an afterglow brightness of 455 mcd/m² measured ten minutes after excitation, a highly visible afterglow of more than 600 minutes, and a total afterglow duration of more than 3,000 minutes. That is the difference between an escape stair you can descend in an outage and one you cannot.

Slip resistance that is tested rather than assumed

The standard insert is a REACH-compliant flexible PVC extrusion grade developed specifically for non-scuff stair nosing use. For it the manufacturer publishes inclined platform testing to DIN 51130:2010 at 22.9°, category R11, and pendulum testing to BS 7976-2:2002 giving an average PTV of 66 dry and 54 wet. The UK Slip Resistance Group treats any PTV of 36 or above as low slip potential, and international testing houses read R11 the same way, so both the dry and the wet figure sit clear of the threshold rather than scraping it.

A PVC body, not a metal one

The profile itself is extruded in black PVC rather than aluminium. That makes it quieter underfoot, easier to cut on site with ordinary tools, and immune to the corrosion you get where aluminium meets cleaning salts. The rear of the profile tapers down to 3mm so it feathers into the tread rather than standing proud as a trip hazard of its own.

Where it is used

This profile is specified for internal stairs in buildings that have to be evacuated safely: school and college stair cores, hospital and care-home corridors, office and shared-residential stairwells, cinemas and theatres where the lighting is deliberately low, and retail and hospitality back-of-house stairs. It suits carpet, LVT, laminate and tile finishes. It is most often chosen where a mains-powered lit nosing has been priced and then rejected on cost, cable routing or maintenance grounds.

Specifications

Choosing the right option

Two decisions: colour and length.

On colour, work from light reflectance value rather than from a swatch on a screen. The manufacturer publishes an LRV for every insert in this range — White 79.9, Yellow 55.7, Canvas 53.2, Ice Grey 42.1, Beige 41.1, Dolphin Grey 27.6, Midnight Grey 12.8, Red 10.6, Cobalt Blue 9.2, Brown 9.1, Black 4.5. Visual contrast at a step edge is a comparison between the nosing and the surfaces around it, so the number that matters is the gap between the insert LRV and the LRV of your tread covering. A pale insert on dark carpet or a dark insert on light vinyl both work; a mid-grey insert on mid-grey carpet does not, whatever the datasheet says about either one on its own.

On length, the 3.22m rung is the manufacturer's stock extrusion and is the cheapest way to buy per metre, so on a wide stair it is usually better value to take a 3.22m length and cut it than to buy two shorter ones. Measure the finished width of the tread rather than the width between strings, and let the nosing run the full width so there is no exposed cut end at either side.

Installation, use and care

The manufacturer's sequence is: make sure the steps are dry, clean, level, even and free of debris; if the profile is pre-drilled, use the holes to mark the drilling positions on the step; drill and plug; apply a suitable adhesive to the underside of the nosing and set it onto the step; screw down with appropriately sized screws; then fit the insert, or the pip, to cover the screw head. Both the adhesive bed and the screws are needed — the adhesive stops the profile drumming, the screws hold it through impact.

For cleaning, the manufacturer specifies a neutral detergent, a thorough rinse with clean water, and drying the inserts before they take foot traffic again. No polish and no solvent cleaner.

Frequently asked questions

Does this stair nosing need wiring or an LED driver?

No. There is no lighting channel and no electrical connection of any kind. The green strip along the front edge is photoluminescent: it absorbs ordinary room light during the day and re-emits it once the lights go out. If you need a mains-powered lit step edge, that is a different profile with a driver and a cable route.

Is the nosing itself aluminium?

No. The body is extruded black PVC, and that is what wraps the front edge and the riser face. The confusion is a fair one, because the manufacturer's brand name for its glow-in-the-dark range sounds metallic, but that name refers to the photoluminescent system rather than to the material. If you want an aluminium carrier at this size we stock those as separate profiles.

How long does the glow actually last?

The manufacturer publishes an afterglow brightness of 455 mcd/m² ten minutes after charging, a highly visible afterglow lasting over 600 minutes, and a total afterglow duration of over 3,000 minutes before it decays to 0.32 mcd/m². A stairwell lit through a normal working day will still show its step edges deep into an overnight power failure.

Which insert colour gives the best contrast?

Contrast is a relationship between the nosing and the floor covering either side of it, not a property of the nosing alone, so choose against your actual finish. The manufacturer publishes a light reflectance value for every insert: White 79.9 and Yellow 55.7 read strongly against dark carpet, while Black 4.5 and Brown 9.1 read against pale stone or light vinyl. Compare the two figures and take the wider gap.

Will it fit a stair with a sloping riser?

Not flush. This is a straight-back profile with a vertical rear leg, so it is made for a square riser. On a raked or sloping riser, choose one of our rake-back profiles instead.

Is it suitable for outdoor steps?

This version uses the standard PVC insert, which the manufacturer specifies for internal applications. For external steps the same profile is offered with a Diamond-Tred insert rated for indoor and outdoor use — ask us and we will point you to it.

Ordering and delivery

Every colour and length combination shown is stocked and priced individually — choose your insert colour and length above and the price updates. UK mainland delivery is charged at a flat rate at checkout. If you need a length we do not list, a colour outside the eleven shown, or the profile supplied pre-drilled, contact us before ordering and we will quote it.