Stair nosing strips protect the edges of the treads from wear and damage, preventing chipping and cracking.
Installing a stair nosing strip is an easy do-it-yourself project that takes just a few minutes.
What Is a Stair Nosing Strip?
The Spruce / Lee Wallender
When viewed from the side, most stair nosings have an L-shaped or 90-degree profile.
Some stair nosing strips' L-shape is curved on the front to conform with bullnose-shaped stair treads.
Most kits come with nails for installing the strips.
Nosings providestair treadsand risers with a finished look.
They also help protect the edges of the steps from damage.
Cut the Stair Nosing Strip
Mark the width on the stair nosing.
Cut the nosing to length.
With metal stair nosings, a hacksaw is best.
For plastic stair nosings, use a hacksaw or tin snips.
Saw carefully to avoid leaving metal burrs along the cut edge, as aluminum is prone to this.
If you see burrs, use a metal file to remove them and smooth the edge.
The strip has a flat side with nail holes and a curved side.
The curved side will rest against the riser (front) of the stair.
The flat side will rest on top (the tread) of the stair.
You may have to pre-drill the nail holes to successfully penetrate the hard layers,underlayment,and subflooring.
Remove the nosing strip.
Drill only through the tile, being careful not to drill deeper than the thickness of the tile.
Run a 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch bead of adhesive caulk on the inside of the angle on the nosing strip.
drop in the Stair Nosing Strip
Place the nosing strip in its final location.
Nail it in place, working from one end to the other.
Immediately wipe away any excess adhesive that may have squeezed out.
Warning
Be sure to install nosings on all of the steps.
Steps are safest when they are identical.
Installing nosing on some steps and not others creates a trip or slip hazard.
How you install stair nosing depends on the manufacturer’s recommendations.
However, in general, it’s best to use both glue and screws to install stair nosing.
Stair nosings have a minimum overhang requirement of 3/4 inches and a maximum of 1 and 1/4 inch.
As well, the radius of the nosing can’t be larger than 9/16 of an inch.
