PROJECT SPECIFICATION DETAILS

Gazette Buildings, Corporation Street, Birmingham

The Challenge

Gazette Buildings is in the courts area of Corporation Street in Birmingham. It was built in 1886 as lawyers’ chambers and has been more recently used as solicitors’ practices and citizens’ advice centres.

The flooring was being refurbished in one of the buildings. This included fitting stair nosings on four staircases. The stair nosings would have to be very durable to deal with the large amount of foot traffic in the building. They would have to be slip-resistant and fit well on the staircases to help to prevent slips, trips and falls in the building. They would also need to have an LRV difference of at least 30 from the black vinyl floorcovering on the staircases.

There were four curved steps that also needed stair nosings. These are complicated to manufacture, as straight aluminium bases have to be cut and welded into shape. One step in particular had compound curves at each end, which meant that two separate curves would have to be created to ensure the stair nosings covered all of the step edge.

The Solution

Andy Todd Flooring was employed as the flooring contractor for the project, and contacted Quantum Flooring Solutions requesting the free QSMS measuring service for the staircases. Within 48 hours a Quantum surveyor had visited Gazette buildings and measured all of the normal steps electronically. This information was sent to Andy Todd Flooring, and also to Betrex Flooring Supplies, a local distributor of Quantum’s products. The surveyor also made templates of the curved steps. These templates were sent back to Quantum’s specialist in-house fabrication team.

Quantum’s SF225R Stair Nosings were chosen for the staircases. These Slenderline profiles are designed for use on steps with thin or no floorcovering. They have double treads, which means a greater surface area of slip resistance for extra safety. The stair nosings are ramped at the back, to minimise the potential for trips on the steps. Light grey and white treads were used in the profiles to make the stair nosings obvious to see against the black floorcovering.

Quantum’s fabrication team expertly recreated the curves of the templates for the curved steps by cutting and welding normal stair nosings into shape. This includes panel beating to keep the profiles flush with the risers of the steps, along with smoothing and polishing the stair nosings after the curves have been perfected. This complex manufacturing process can only be accomplished by highly skilled fabricators, so it was necessary for Gazette Buildings to employ a company with the ability to help to maintain the professional look of its staircases.

The Outcome

Quantum delivered its bespoke curved stair nosings. Meanwhile, Betrex Flooring Supplies cut the other stair nosings to the correct size with the measurements from the free QSMS measuring service. Andy Todd Flooring then fitted the profiles onto the Gazette Buildings steps. Both the curved and the straight stair nosings fitted perfectly onto the steps in the building. Quantum’s slip resistant treads and the SF225R profiles help to prevent slips, trips and falls on the staircases, and meet all Building Regulations guidelines.

Quantum’s welding team ensured that the curved stair nosings did not pose a problem for Andy Todd Flooring to fit. The Quantum profiles look great in Gazette Buildings and help to keep everyone who uses the building safe.