GRP Stair Treads & Nosings
GRP stair treads are gritted anti-slip covers with high-visibility nosings, fixed over existing steel, concrete or timber steps. At UIS, we survey, supply and fit them with our own teams across the UK.
More grip on the stair you already have.
GRP stair treads are anti-slip covers made from glass-reinforced plastic, with a bonded grit surface and a contrasting nosing along the step edge. They fix over existing steel, concrete or timber steps, so a worn or slippery stair gets a new walking surface without being replaced.
If a slip on a worn flight has landed on your desk, or a safety audit has flagged steps that have gone smooth, the fix has to remove the hazard without creating a new one.
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Surveyed first
Covers screwed down in a hurry can shift under load or stand proud at the front edge, which a surveyor then records as a fresh trip hazard. We survey the existing stair first.
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The right tread and nosing
We specify the GRP tread and high-visibility nosing for the substrate, the use and the slip value the stair needs.
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Fitted and documented
Our own teams install both, so one company owns the result from the first measurement to the documentation pack.
Tread and nosing specification at a glance.
What goes into a tread cover that stays put, stays grippy and passes a slip audit.
- Cover
- Low-profile GRP sheet, typically 4 to 6 mm thick, cut to each step's width and depth
- Decided by: The existing tread, and keeping every rise on the flight even
- Surface
- Bonded quartz or silicon carbide grit, from fine to coarse
- Decided by: Wet or contaminated use: a wet PTV of 36 or more to BS EN 16165
- Nosing
- A permanently contrasting strip along the leading edge, flush with the tread
- Decided by: Visibility of each step edge, with Approved Document K and BS 8300 on stairs used by the public, and the same nosing on every step of the flight
- Fixing
- Mechanical fixing, with adhesive where the substrate suits it
- Decided by: Steel, concrete or timber steps, and the traffic they carry
- Fire
- A Euroclass to BS EN 13501-1 or a BS 476-7 class, certified for the grade supplied
- Decided by: The building's fire strategy
Tread covers or new treads?
| Aspect | Covers over the existing stair | Replacement treads or a new stair |
|---|---|---|
| When it fits | The stair is sound and only the surface is worn or slippery | The treads are corroded, damaged or the wrong size |
| Work on site | Covers fixed over each step in turn | Old treads removed and new ones fixed to the stringers |
| Disruption | Low: the work runs step by step | Higher: the flight is closed while it changes |
Where the whole stair has had its day, a new GRP staircase is the better fix.
Where it is used
- GRP for Rail SitesGRP depot walkways, station stairs and treads, and fencing that does not conduct near traction power.
- Replacing Corroded Steel with GRPRusted steel grating, handrails and stair treads replaced with GRP, often on the existing frame.
- GRP for Housing and Local AuthoritiesGRP anti-slip stair treads, flat-roof walkways and riser flooring for housing blocks and public buildings.
- GRP for Car ParksGRP anti-slip stair treads, roof-deck walkways and pedestrian handrails that road salt does not rust.
What decides the price
Treads are priced per flight. The main drivers are:
- the number and width of the steps
- the cover and the nosing
- the substrate and the fixing
- the access
From survey to fitted tread.
We survey the stair you have, supply the treads cut to fit, and install them without closing the site.
Site survey
We come to the stairs and measure them. Each step is checked for wear, camber and substrate, whether steel, concrete or timber, so the covers are specified for the flight you have rather than a standard size. For a complex refurbishment we can 3D-scan the stair and overlay the proposed treads in CAD.
Specification and quotation
On the survey we specify the correct GRP tread, nosing profile and fixings for your substrate and setting, including Part M and BS 8300 nosing detailing where the steps are public-facing. For a commercial package we return a detailed, itemised quotation within 1 to 2 weeks of the survey, with no separate fitter's cost to follow.
Supply and cut to fit
Once the profile is specified, we supply the GRP treads and high-visibility nosings and cut and prepare each one to the survey dimensions, so every cover fits its step instead of being trimmed roughly in place.
Installation
Our own teams mechanically fix the treads and nosings to the existing stair under full method statements and risk assessments. We agree the programme around your operation and can work out of hours or on night shifts to keep the stairs in use.
Handover and documentation
At completion we hand over the O&M pack, including the BS EN 16165 pendulum slip-resistance values and, where the project calls for it, the fire classification documentation, so the specification is auditable from day one.
Aftercare
We run a defect liability period of 12 months from completion, in line with standard JCT terms (unless your contract sets different terms): if anything is not right in that first year, we come back and put it right, and we stay available for maintenance advice afterwards.
Why GRP treads outlast re-coated steel.
We are a steel fabricator and installer first, and we supply and fit GRP where it is the right material, on the same sites and to the same standards. On a stair, GRP earns its place as a gritted, high-visibility anti-slip surface that can be mechanically fixed over worn steel or concrete steps, with the pendulum slip-resistance values documented to BS EN 16165 rather than asserted.
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Treads and nosings.
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Treads fitted to the stair you actually have.
One team owns the survey, the fix and the slip-resistance paperwork.
About UIS-
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A cover fitted to the stair you actually have
Worn steel and concrete steps are rarely true: they camber, dish in the traffic lane, and wear unevenly. Before we quote, we survey the flight and measure each step, and for an awkward refurbishment we 3D-scan the stair and overlay the proposed treads in CAD. Our fitters then mechanically fix the correct GRP tread cover and nosing profile to that substrate with the right fixings, so the covers match the steps you have rather than being trimmed to fit on the day. That is the difference between a tread that stays put and one that moves the first time a loaded trolley runs over it.
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02
Slip resistance you can put in front of an auditor
Our GRP treads and nosings meet BS 4592-0:2006+A1:2012 for industrial stair treads, as gritted working surfaces, and we issue the pendulum slip-resistance values to BS EN 16165 with the project O&M pack at handover. We put that measured specification in the file, so it is there when your insurer or your HSEQ audit asks for the slip performance on those steps, rather than a claim on a web page.
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One team owns the survey, the fix and the paperwork
Buy the covers from one supplier and find a fitter for them, and you become the coordinator the moment something does not line up. We keep the whole job under one roof, surveying, supplying, cutting to fit and installing with our own people, and we hand over one itemised quotation and one documentation pack. Because we measure and fit, you get no separate fitter's invoice later and one firm to hold to account if a step is wrong.
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Certified people who work your site without closing it
Every operative on your stairs carries a CSCS card, every job runs under an SSSTS-qualified supervisor, and our site teams hold PASMA and IPAF tickets, working to full method statements and risk assessments. We employ these teams directly rather than subcontracting them in. On site, our crews install regularly on live, occupied premises: at a trading supermarket in Oban we put in the access steelwork, stairs and handrails on night shifts so the store never had to stop. We keep a stairway in a working building in use the same way, fitting around your operation.
"I've worked with UIS for several years on some high profile and very complex projects. Their attitude and work ethic are second to none - providing high quality services and products which are delivered safely and on time every time. Overall they are a pleasure to do business with and wouldn't hesitate recommending UIS for any steelwork or metalwork packages."
Tread and nosing questions.
Yes. We supply the pendulum slip-resistance values to BS EN 16165 as part of the project O&M pack at handover, so the slip specification for those steps is documented and auditable, not just claimed.
Yes. We survey the existing substrate first and mechanically fix the covers to the steps you have, so we reuse a sound flight rather than demolishing it. Where steps are badly worn or cambered, the survey is what stops a cover shifting or sitting proud at the edge.
We detail and install high-visibility nosings to the accessibility requirements of Building Regulations Part M and BS 8300 for public and commercial stairs. We confirm the exact detail against your project at survey.
Usually, yes. Our CSCS and SSSTS teams work to full method statements and risk assessments on live sites, and we can install out of hours or on night shifts. At a trading supermarket in Oban we installed access steelwork, stairs and handrails on night shifts without stopping the store.
We do both, with our own people: we survey, supply, cut to fit and install, so you have one point of contact and one documentation pack. We specify the correct profiles and fixings for your stairs rather than leaving you to source a separate fitter.
Most covers are low-profile sheets of around 4 to 6 mm, so they add very little to the step height. When every step on a flight gets the same cover, the rises stay even from top to bottom, which is what matters for trips.
We do. Our own teams survey each flight, specify the tread cover and contrasting nosing for the substrate and the traffic, and mechanically fix them on industrial, commercial and public sites across the UK, with the slip values issued in the handover pack.