Overlap Stair Nose

What the overlap lip covers

A floating floor is laid with a gap wherever it meets something fixed, including the front edge of a step. That gap has to stay open for the floor to expand and contract, and it also has to be hidden.

The lip does both. The lip sits above the surface of the floor, so the floor keeps moving underneath while its edge stays covered. The stair nose page sets out the choice between this and the flush profile.

The step an overlap nosing makes

Because the lip sits over the floor, the nosing stands a little proud of the tread. That is how the profile works: the raised part is the lip, and it is there to cover the gap.

Visually it earns its place: the raised edge catches light and draws a line along the front of every step, so a flight reads as a series of edges from across a room.

Which floors need it

Click together laminate, click vinyl plank and floating engineered wood all take this profile, since all three float.

Between them they account for a wide slice of what gets installed today, which explains the number of finishes this profile comes in. The LVT stair nosing range gathers the vinyl versions.

The floors this suits

Click together floors are everywhere now, and every one of them floats. A staircase continuing such a floor will be looking at this profile.

If a staircase is being planned before the floor is down, the method of installation is the thing to settle first, since it decides which of the two profiles the order will be built from.

Risers under the nosing

The vertical face below takes a riser, and the nosing sits over the top of it.

Where a staircase has an open side, the nosing also needs a finished end so the profile is not left exposed at the edge of the tread. That is a separate piece and is worth including in the count.