Building
Regulations & Guidelines Made Easy ….
“Stairs, ladders and ramps shall be designed constructed and installed
as to be safe for people moving between different levels in or about the
building.”
(Building Regulation Document K, 2013,
Schedule 1)
There are four documents that give guidance
to help satisfy this requirement:
1) Building Regulation Document K – Protection from falling
2) Building Regulation Document M – Access to and use of buildings
3)
BS8300:2009+A1:2010 – Lighting of stepped access & slip
resistance
4) Building Research Information Paper – IP15/03: Proprietary nosings for
non-domestic stairs
These four documents cover guidance for five
different considerations for Stair Nosing and stairway design:
Creating a
Constant Band of Colour
Documents K, M and BS8300 cover:
A) The
recommended dimensions of a Stair Nosing:
The tread should measure between 55-65mm and the riser
30-55mm. This ensures there is a large enough band on the step edge. Quantum Flooring
have a wide selection of Stair Nosings which meet these dimensions.
B) The colour
requirements of the Stair Nosing tread and riser:
The colour of the stair nosing is required to differ from
that of the floor covering. Every colour has a Light Reflectance Value (LRV) of
between 0 (Black) and 100 (White). There must be 30 points difference between
the stair nosing LRV and the floorcovering, e.g. If the floorcovering has a LRV
of 50, then the stair nosing should have a LRV of between 0-20 or 80-100.
Colour (and the Light Reflectance Value – LRV) is
important in particular when specifying to follow the Building Regulation. Even
if the stairway is not in an area of Public Access the correct colour selection
is important to make the stairway attractive. Quantum Flooring offers 19
different tread and nosing colour options for Stair Nosings in its PVC range.
Creating a Safe Stairway
Documents M and the BS8300:2009 make
reference to:
C) The
assistance provided by a tactile surface at the approaches to a stairway:
A tactile approach should be installed as a hazard
warning surface on the top and bottom approaches of the staircase, which will
warn pedestrians that they are approaching a staircase.
D) The slip
resistance of the tread surface of a Stair Nosing:
The tread material used is important for the safety and
performance of a stairway. There are two recommended tests that can be carried
out to determine the slip resistance of a flooring material. The pendulum test
(PTV) method and a surface micro roughness measurement. Either of these can be
used to give an indication of the slip resistance of a material, A PTV greater
than 36 is considered to be suitable, however, the PTV is difficult to measure due
to the size of the nosing. Quantums Stair standard internal tread material has
been tested using a micro roughness meter, and in new and also used (on site)
conditions gives a surface roughness reading greater than 20μm, which is
classified as being of a low slip potential.
Finally the BRE information paper IP/15/03 introduces:
E) Guidance
about the coverage of the tread material on the top surface of the Stair
Nosing:
The
tread is the surface of the Stair Nosing which receives ascending or descending
footfall. The Stair Nosing tread material should extend to the front edge to
the point at which it meets the vertical face to minimise the risk of a slip in
descent. Every profile with Quantum Floorings Q Range meets this guidance.
There are a number of other considerations that should be
made when looking to create best practice staircases, these include looking to
avoid:
» Bullnosed steps
- these can create a trip hazard to partially sighted users, who use their foot
to find the edge of the step.
» Open riser steps
- again these create a slip hazard.
» Shiny metal
- as these can create glare in artificial or direct sunlight. Throughout this guide
the products that can be used to ensure best practice can be identified by the
‘Building Regulations’ best practice
stamp.
