Onyx Stair Nosing

Because cork is a natural resilient material that provides additional safety as a low-slip staircase, it is used as a stair covering. Stairs constructed with cork planks can also dramatically decrease noise as a result of cork’s acoustic properties. It is easy to install with three components: the tread, the riser, and the stair nosing. Simply use LePage PL400 Subfloor & Deck Heavy-duty Premium Quality Adhesive to glue the riser first and then the cork floating floor plank and nosing to the tread starting from the lowest step.

Special order: allow approximately 2 weeks for production. Ships with your complete order. No returns or exchanges.

How many risers, treads, and nosing do you need?

In general, stairs are about three feet wide, and our cork floating planks range from 900mm (35-7/16″) to 1233mm (48-35/64″) in length.

If your steps are shorter than the plank you’ve picked, you will need:

• Amount of steps as nosing
• Amount of steps as planks for tread
• Amount of steps plus one as planks for riser (if required)

It is necessary to join two planks together if your stairs are wider than the plank you selected. In general, order 1.5 nosing per step (if the staircase is less than one and a half planks wide), or order according to the total length required, saving a minimum of 6 inches for the shorter joining plank, and preserve enough for the loss from the saw blade kerf from cutting. It is better to order a little extra than to come up short.

• Same amount of nosing as tread
• Amount of nosing plus another set as riser

In case the upper level of the stairs shares the same cork floating floor, you must include one more nosing.

Note: Step denotes each tread between the upper and lower floors.

*You might end up with lots of leftovers depending on the depth of tread and height of the riser, also the width of the plank you picked.  You might use them for the initial row of other rooms/areas if you wish.

Calculation Examples

Additional materials might be required

Landing: If you have landing(s) on your stair, measure the landing(s) area and see how many extra planks you need.

Steps with opening on one or both sides which require mitre: Count the length required on each open side and calculate how many extra nosing you need.

Installation

To complete a stair installation, you will need:

• Stair Nosing
• Floating floor planks (enough for treads and risers)
• Industrial Glue such as LePage PL400 Subfloor & Deck Heavy-duty Premium Quality Adhesive
• Table Saw
• Measuring Tape
• Pencil

Start from the lower end of the stairs.  Cut the plank to fit the size of the riser and cut the nosing to the width of the stairs.  Put the riser in place and lay the nosing on top and push it all the way in.  Then measure the cut size for the tread board.  After all materials are cut to size, glue the riser in place first, then connect the nosing and tread board, then glue them down together.  Repeat these steps until the staircase is complete.  Because the nosing is made from the matching plank and needs the tongue-and-groove joint to lock together, join the nosing with the tread board before gluing them down together.

Remember to install the nosing from the stair end if the upper floor is to be installed with the same cork flooring. If you start from another side, you may have trouble locking the nosing in place.

It is important to protect and prolong the cork stair surface by coating them with Loba 2K AT Supra water-based polyurethane twice after the whole staircase has been finished. Loba 2K AT Supra is the proper material for cork because it flexes with the surface and doesn’t crack. It doesn’t yellow as much as many other polyurethanes, which allows you to sand lightly on the surface and recoat as needed without having to strip the material at all.

Contact us if you need help calculating how much material to order.

1. Are there any landings in between? If so, how many? What are their dimensions?
2. How many steps are there in total?
3. The exact width of the staircase (might require to join 2 planks)? If not the same width, please indicate # of steps for each different width.
4. The upper floor (connected to the staircase) will be finished with the same flooring material?
5. Do you require risers with the same flooring?
6. Do you have steps with openings on one or both sides? If so, how many? What is the opening width?

*If you have carpeted stairs, you must trim the existing rounded nosing flush to the riser before starting the job.