PROJECT SPECIFICATION DETAILS

The Challenge

St Michael’s is a newly built Primary School located at Larkhill in Salisbury. The school boasts state of the art facilities including a dance studio and a sensory garden.

KC Carpet & Flooring was selected as the flooring contractor for the construction of St Michaels, which included fitting stair nosings in the school. One of the staircases was designed in a special ‘speakers’ corner’ style. This meant that it was designed to have normal steps on the left-hand side, and larger steps for seating on the right-hand side. Stair nosings were required for both the the smaller steps and the larger seating steps on the staircase. The stair nosings would have to meet Health and Safety requirements in terms of minimising slips trips and fall. They were also required to have an LRV difference of at least 30 points from the steps.

The Solution

KC Carpet & Flooring got in contact with Quantum Flooring Solutions and requested the free QSMS measuring service. With this service, a surveyor from Quantum is guaranteed to visit the site within 48 hours and electronically measure every step. These measurements are then sent to Quantum, the flooring contractor, and a local distributor. KC Carpet & Flooring chose to use Quantum’s QRu-HF1 Stair Nosing profile for the staircase. This uPVC profile is designed for use on stairways with a thick floorcovering such as carpet. In this case the carpet would be dark grey, so a black carrier was fitted with a lime tread to contrast between the steps and the step noses.

The Outcome

Quantum Flooring Solutions’ free measuring service ensured that KC Carpet and Flooring had the precise lengths of stair nosing that were needed for both sets of steps on the staircase, meaning that there was no on-site waste. The QRu-HF1 profile looks great on the steps, with the lime tread providing a clear contrast between the stairs and the stair nosings. This helps to minimise the risk of trips and falls for the pupils and staff at St Michael’s, and easily meets Building Regulations standards for LRV difference. The slip-resistant tread, which reaches all the way to the step edges, enhances the safety of everybody who uses the staircase.

This project has been entered for an Education Award, with the great relationship between Quantum and KC Carpet and Flooring described as “seamless”. Quantum provided St Michael’s with high performance stair nosings that should be looking good, and helping to keep people safe in the school, for years to come.