-
Fast Delivery Express Shipping on All Orders
-
Satisfaction Guaranteed.
-
Secure Payments
-
Need help? Call Us 01282 270 010 or email sales@stairnosingsuk.co.uk
Description
The twin-insert 93mm nosing in the darker and mirror finishes
This is the same 93mm x 38mm twin-channel square-edge nosing we supply in mill and polished aluminium, offered in the four finishes people specify when the stair edge is meant to be seen rather than disappear: Dark Bronze, Satin Black, Mirroflect Silver and Mirrorflect Gold. The section is identical — 93mm across the tread carrying two PVC insert bands, a 38mm front face at its deepest, 3.5mm gauge 6000-series aluminium, square front and a ramped rear edge that beds down onto the covering. What changes is the surface, and on a stair that is the part everyone looks at.
If you want the plain mill or polished finishes instead, they are on the standard finish listing, which starts a good deal lower.
✓ Building Regs Compliant
The manufacturer publishes this badge against this profile on its own technical artwork, and places it in its Standard range. Its Domestic range is labelled “not building regs compliant” and carries no badge; this profile carries it.
What the guidance asks for. Approved Document K requires step nosings to be made apparent using a visually contrasting material — a minimum of 55mm wide on both the tread and the riser in buildings other than dwellings (1.7a), and 50–65mm on the tread with 30–55mm on the riser in the common access areas of buildings containing flats (1.10a). Approved Document M treats visual contrast as adequate where the light reflectance value of the two surfaces differs by more than 30 points.
How this profile measures against it. The tread plate is 93mm and carries two contrasting bands rather than one, a materially wider contrast zone than a single-channel nosing offers. The front face is 38mm at its deepest, which sits inside the 30–55mm riser band in 1.10a but under the 55mm minimum in 1.7a — where that clause applies the riser contrast has to come from the surrounding construction or a deeper riser-highlight profile, and we will quote one. Note that a dark or mirrored nosing in a pale stair is doing some of that work already. Compliance is a property of the finished installation and is signed off by Building Control or your access consultant, not by the nosing on its own.
Why the finish is the decision here
Dark Bronze and Satin Black draw a deliberate line. On a pale stone or light vinyl stair a dark nosing reads as a crisp horizontal rather than a bright strip competing with the floor, and with two insert bands set into it you get a banded edge that is genuinely hard to miss on the descent. Specifiers reach for them where the handrail, balustrade fixings or ironmongery are already dark.
The two mirror finishes do the opposite. Mirroflect Silver and Mirrorflect Gold throw light back, so the step edge is picked out by whatever is lighting the flight. That is a strong look in a hotel or retail stair and a difficult one in a dusty industrial stairwell, where every mark shows. Be honest about the traffic before specifying one.
Worth saying plainly: the finish is a surface, not a wear layer, and it is the two PVC inserts that take the footfall. The metal rib between the bands and the nose itself do get walked on at the edges, and on the mirror finishes that shows sooner than on mill. For a service route rather than a front-of-house one, the darker finishes hide scuffing far better.
Where it's used
Hotel and restaurant stairs, retail fit-outs, office receptions and refurbished apartment communal stairs — places where the stair is part of the interior rather than a fire escape, but still has to carry a contrast requirement and real traffic. The 93mm tread suits wider commercial flights where a 70mm plate looks mean.
Specifications
| Tread width | 93mm |
|---|---|
| Riser, internal / external | 35mm / 38mm |
| Material | 6000-series aluminium alloy |
| Gauge | 3.5mm |
| Profile | Square front face, ramped rear edge |
| Channels | Double — two replaceable PVC inserts |
| Finishes | Dark Bronze, Satin Black, Mirroflect Silver, Mirrorflect Gold |
| Insert colours | 19, manufacturer-stated LRV from 4.48 to 73.69 |
| Stock lengths | 2.44m, 2.75m and 3.22m |
| Suitable floor coverings | Vinyl and lino |
| Building regulations | Manufacturer's Standard range, badged Building Regs Compliant on its own artwork. See the note above for how the dimensions read against Approved Document K 1.7a and 1.10a. |
| Slip resistance | Manufacturer states 70 PTV dry and 58 PTV wet to BS 7976-2 (Four-S slider), Floor Safe Ltd report FS10174, 11 September 2015. The report describes the tested surface as “Stair Tread - Linished”, so it is the abraded aluminium that is identified, not explicitly the PVC insert. |
Choosing the right option
Work the insert colour first. If the stair has to meet a visual contrast requirement, the number that matters is the difference in light reflectance value between the inserts and the tread covering either side of them, so pick against the floor and not against the metal. The LRV figures run from Premium Black at 4.48 to White at 73.69. Both channels take the same colour. Hazard is the black and yellow striped insert for industrial and plant-room stairs where the edge has to shout — note it carries the manufacturer's surcharge twice over on a double-channel profile.
Then pick the finish for the interior, and the length last: order the next stock length up from your widest step and cut down, rather than butting two pieces on one tread.
Installation, use and care
Screwed and plugged through the tread plate, or bonded with a high-grab adhesive where the substrate will not take a mechanical fixing. The rear edge is ramped so coverings finish against it without a lip. Clean with warm water and a neutral detergent. Avoid abrasive pads and solvent-based cleaners on the mirror and coloured finishes — they dull the surface, and unlike the inserts the finish cannot be replaced without replacing the nosing. Both inserts can be lifted and renewed when they wear, without disturbing the extrusion.
Frequently asked questions
Is the section the same as the mill-finish version? Yes. Same 93mm x 38mm profile, same 3.5mm gauge, same two channels and the same 19 insert colours. Only the surface finish and the price differ.
Will the mirror finishes scratch? They mark more visibly than mill or the darker finishes, as any reflective surface does. On a high-traffic or dusty stair the darker finishes are more forgiving.
Can I have two different insert colours? Not as a stock line — both channels take the same colour here. Ask us if a two-tone build is specified and we will price it.
Do you cut to length? These are supplied in the three stock lengths listed. Cut on site with a fine-tooth blade, or ask before ordering if you need a specific length.
Ordering and delivery
Choose finish, insert colour and length above; each combination is a separate stock line, so the price shown is for the exact nosing you have configured. Lengths over 2.4m travel on a pallet or long-parcel service rather than a standard carrier. If you are ordering for a whole flight and want quantities checked against a drawing, send it over before you place the order.
Delivery Information
| Service | Timeframe | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Standard UK Delivery | 2–4 business days | £9.99 |
Orders placed before 12pm Mon–Fri are typically dispatched same day. Delivery to all UK addresses. Contact us for international enquiries.
Payment & Security
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.
