The Purpose Of Stair Nosing
By Greg Vanden Berge
Now when I mention stair nosing, that has nothing to do
with yours or other people's noses or staring at someone, in the process
of being nosy, to gather some information about one of your neighbors.
That's not it at all.
What is the purpose of stair nosing? Well for one, it makes the stairway
look nice. I like the look of the carpeting as it rolls over the stair
nosing and onto the riser as it continues it's way down the stairway.
The stair nosing it is to provide a little more comfort as we walk up
and down the stairs. It provides a little more room for our feet to
stand on.
One of the best ways to show you the importance of a stair nosing, would
be to have you walk up a set of stairs without the stair nosing and one
with a stair nosing.
In all fairness the set of stairs should be the same tread and riser
sizes. Pay attention, the next time you walk up a set of stairs with a
stair nosing and see how it feels.
Most stairs have a stair nosing, and it will be difficult to find one
without this, either a stair nosing or a 1 inch cut back in the stair
stringer. The 1 inch cut back provides the same effect as a 1 inch
overhang or stair nosing.
Most stair nosing's have a 1 inch overhang and this seems to be a pretty
good distance. I have built stairs with 1- 1/2 inch and 1- 1/4 inch
stair nosing, thinking that it would be better. Isn't more always better
than less. This wasn't the case and the stairs seemed to be a little
uncomfortable walking up and down.
Always remember that a good distance for a stair nosing is going to be 1
inch. I can't really explain what the reasoning is behind this, but I
can tell you, that I have walked up and down, so many different types of
stairs that this one inch stair nosing can make the difference between a
comfortable set of stairs and a miserable set of stairs.
Here's a little stair building Tip, for those of you that read my
articles. Every once in a while I give someone a Golden Nugget of
wisdom.
A good rule of thumb for building a set of stairs will be the 17 1/2
inch rule.
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