A stair nosing is the protruding edge of a stair where the most foot traffic normally occurs. Stair nosings, especially in commercial and industrial settings, are typically fitted with a non-slip surface to increase traction and prevent injury from slips, trips, and falls.
According to the National Safety Council, there are over one million stair-related accidents every year in the United States alone. So, we can see that installing and anti-slip stair nosing is a good method of preventing such accidents.
In the USA, many states require new staircase construction to include an abrasive surface or stair tread to minimise the risk of stairway related incidents. While not as strict in Australia, OH&S requirements in the workplace are making the use of anti slip stair treads or nosings more and more common. (Refer AS4586 and AS1428.)
One note on the term “anti slip bull nosings” used to describe this type of stair tread. The term bullnose (trim) is used in building and construction industries to provide a smooth, rounded edge for countertops, staircase steps, building corners, or other construction. Hence, in the case of staircase steps, this term refers to the rounded edge of the stair nosing. Of course, the smooth edge in the case of an anti slip stair nosing is constrained by the amount of grit or other anti-slip material used on the nosing.
Our Gripmasteer anti slip stair treads come in various grades. The top of the line is the one with a 10-year warranty.
Anti Slip Stair Nosings & Stair Treads
Anti slip stair nosings and treads are designed to make the stair step edge more pronounced, more visible, protect against wear for this high traffic area, and of course, more importantly, prevent injury from slips, trips, and falls. We also like to tell our customers that this can also extend the life of many treads which may be worn or damaged.
At Amco Industries, we are especially proud of our our Gripmaster exterior antislip stair nosings which we know are recognised as up there with the best in the world, if not the outright best, in all mining, marine, industrial and other areas of heavy infrastructure use.
We believe that no other non slip stair nosing or tread product can attain the same level of aggregate hardness and density to maximise resistance to wear while providing the necessary anti-slip properties required.
Gripmaster antislip stair nosings are ideal for use on steps, exterior staircase steps and even ladder rungs for an industry, construction, manufacturing and so on. And, this is as tough as it gets, please see the video below to see for your self.
Gripmaster non slip stair nosing comes in anti-slip stair nosings also known as bull nosings and stair capping. Being designed to cover any worn or slippery steps, these tough stair nosings increasing stair safety, as well as help prevent slips, trips or falls in workplace staircases.
Why Our metal Anti Slip Stair Nosings Are The Best
Gripmaster antislip stair nosings used on an open type grid staircase.
These Gripmaster antislip nosings and treads are used on ladder rungs for anti-slip protection.
Gripmaster premium non slip stair nosings which includes a 10-year warranty are manufactured on a base of 1.2 mm corrosion resistant colourbond steel and baked onto self-healing Zinc Alumina roll stock. Coupled to the foundation is a woven medium which allows for thermal expansion and contraction of the base product. Without this medium, delamination can be expected to occur in harsh environments due to thermal expansion as may occur in a competitive material of lesser quality.
Our top-of-the-line stair nosing grade comes with a 10-year warranty covering delaminating, chemical attack, wear and corrosion when in normal use. All such non slip stair treads/nosings are given a special warranty number should the users have warranty claims in the future.
We also have a slightly lesser quality grade that comes with a 5 year warranty. These two grades use Silicon Carbide as an anti slip medium. Silica Carbide has a Mohs hardness of 9.2 – 9.5 very close to the unequaled natural hardness qualities of diamond which has a Mohs hardness of 10.
Silicon Carbide is a non-wearing crystalline structure, is very sharp and is the only acceptable product to use on products with a 10-year warranty. In industry, Silica Carbide is commonly used as an abrasive. It is also used as a semiconductor and diamond simulant. The simplest process to manufacture silica carbide is to combine silica sand and carbon in a graphic furnace at a high temperature, between 1,600 °C and 2,500 °C. Silicon Carbide is also known as Carborundum and moissanite, a naturally occurring mineral. Interestingly, this is also used in the manufacture of different materials including LEDs and bulletproof vests.
In applications where a temporary stair tread is required, where service life is limited, we can supply another grade (our lite model) where Aluminium Oxide is used as the abrasive. This has a Mohs hardness of 8.5 – 9 and the ceramic chip has a Mohs hardness of 7. We also note that the production process used to produce the entry level of this range is not as involved. Hence, the lamination process used is not as comprehensive as the ones with 5 or 10-year warranty.
More on antislip stair nosings on another post. Watch this space.
For more information on anti-slip stair nosings and treads, contact us now.
